Kingdom Hearts: The Dark's Keeper
by MemoryStormSanctuary
Summary: Having left the Organization behind the Heartless trio finds themselves facing challenges they never thought they would have to face. Especially not alone. Separated by their choices the trio must follow the path they have chosen. But did they chose right? With Organization 13 drawing closer to Kingdom Hearts, the trio doesn't have time to question. All they can do is wait and see.
1. Prologue

**Prologue; Line The Pieces Up**

The group of four ran past Y with loud laughter. So loud it was almost obnoxious. But the blonde didn't mind. Y watched them run past silently, holding a stack of flyers to her chest. She felt her orange eyes fill with tears as she watched them pass. The girl with brown hair and green eyes wearing an orange shirt. The boy with blonde hair and brown eyes, who was the unofficial leader. The heavier boy with dark hair and brown eyes. And him.

He looked a lot happier than Y remembered seeing him in a long while. His bright blue eyes were filled with laughter. Y found herself believing he did have a heart, just from one look at his eyes. His blonde hair was the same messy spikes she had remembered too. He wore something different now. No longer did he wear the black coat she was so accustomed to. He wore a cream jacket with a checkered pattern around his sleeves and a red collar over a black zip-up shirt. The pendant hanging from the zipper resembled an x, looking at it made Y smile.

But it hurt to see who he was with. He wasn't with his real friends. Just these fake place holders until Naminé completed her job. It would only take a few days. Seven at most. It wasn't enough time. Not nearly enough.

Y wanted so badly to save him. He didn't deserve death. He should be given just as much chance to live as Sora. But how could she separate them from each other? Their memories had become so entangled within one another's. Only Naminé could fix it now. But she wasn't allowed to interfere with Naminé's work. She just had to stand guard over this town until the time came. The time for his life to end and Sora's to continue. She couldn't fix him. Another one she couldn't save.

Y let out a soft sigh turning to go back to the job she had. It wasn't worth doing, but anything to keep her mind distracted was useful at this point. It prevented her from worrying about them. Where they were and what they were planning. Things had fallen apart between her and her friends so quickly. Like a tower falling when one brick was removed. Now they were all on their own.

Axel had to have returned to the organization. He had nowhere else he could ever think of going. Y had to be sure he couldn't find this town, and if he did he couldn't get _him. _Axel had to be, eliminated before he could interfere too much.

X, he could be anywhere. He planned on helping Sora, but he didn't specify what that plan entailed. He could be just wandering worlds, waiting to chance upon the now sleeping hero. Or he could be in a world he somehow knew Sora would go to. Y didn't know, but she was already worried. Her brother had been misguided before, maybe it would happen again.

And Yuki. The little princess, as X called her when she wasn't around. Y really worried about her. She had no clue what to do. She had never been alone before. She was so confused and scared. She didn't even know who to side with. The fight amongst the friends must have torn her up the most. They were all she could remember most of the time.

Y was jolted out of her revive when someone bumped into her, making her drop everything she was holding. Without thinking, Y dropped to her knees to pick up the scattered papers. The person who had bumped into her dropped down as well.

"Sorry about that Y." Y glanced up to see the blue eyes she knew so well. The blonde boy offered her a small smile as he helped her gather the flyers. Y forced herself to smile back.

"It's alright Roxas. My fault for zoning out like that." Y replied. Roxas smiled a little more at her. He glanced down at the flyers the two were picking up.

"You excited for the struggle tournament?" Roxas asked. Y glanced at the flyers she had been holding. That's what they were for. Y smiled as she stood, having gathered all the flyers.

"Only if you win." Y stated simply. Roxas laughed nervously.

"I don't know about that." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You'll do great." Y said encouragingly. "I'll see you around." She said before turning away. Roxas looked up at her surprised.

"Yeah, see ya." He said. Y couldn't look back at him. Her eyes were too filled with tears. She looked up at the sky with a heavy breath.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She muttered as she walked.

Yuki looked out over the town she had grown used to. It was her home in most senses of the word. Except, she didn't live there. She didn't really live anywhere anymore. She had lost any right to a home when she choose to turn her back on the other Heartless. That was the only place she really belonged wasn't it? In the darkness where her kind were born. That's all she was ever told.

Yuki sighed looking down at the ground from her place on top of the clock tower. It was a far drop, she guessed. The people that did cross the ground beneath her did look small and inconsequential. But Yuki suspected secretly they were all very important. To someone, somewhere, somehow. After all, everyone was. Even those that most couldn't remember.

Yuki sighed leaning back. It was surprising her, just how quickly some of her memories were returning to her. It seemed now everything that had been lost was coming back, piece by piece. Mostly she could remember Kairi. There were somethings about Riku, but not much yet. As for Sora, well, she knew his name. Those memories were the hardest to recover it seemed. But Yuki took that as a good sign. It meant Roxas was still ok. For now.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" A familiar voice asked. Yuki turned to see Axel leaning against the corner wall. He was grinning softly at her.

"Guess I'm just that predictable." Yuki replied softly, smiling at him with a small bit of caution. Axel was still in Organization thirteen. He could very easily have been sent to eliminate her.

"Maybe." Axel agreed. He slowly made his way over to Yuki and sat down beside her. He was trying to seem relaxed, but Yuki could tell he was far from it. His shoulders tensed just a bit too much, and his eyes were darting about quickly.

"What's it been like back at the Organizations?" Yuki asked. Axel let out a nervous chuckle. Yuki suspected that meant not pleasant.

"There's a bit of an uproar, you know." Axel said almost jokingly. "No one's happy all the keyblade wielders ditched on us. Orders are if we find you, to drag you back." He continued. His gaze had settled on the sunset, like it used to when they all were together.

"Are you following those orders?" Yuki asked. Axel was quiet for a moment, considering his answer.

"When I find Roxas I will. But not for you guys. The Heartless can handle their own problems." He finally decided. Yuki frowned looking down at the ground. She kicked her feet back and forth a few times, thinking.

"Axel, what's going to happen to all of us?" Yuki asked very suddenly. Axel jumped a little, looking at her in surprise. He frowned looking away trying to find an answer. It was a question he had been wondering about himself lately. He wasn't sure he had an answer he could give her. But he couldn't not answer her. She was scared and he could tell.

Axel had to mentally scold himself once again. He always did that around them. He'd label emotions that weren't possible. None of these feelings were real. Just made up to pass the time. But they felt so real sometimes. He would really feel like he was happy, or angry, or anything in between. It amazed him and worried him all at once.

"I don't know Snowy." Axel answered honestly. "It really is going to depend on how things go. And honestly, if things keep heading the way they are, it's not going to end pretty for anyone of us." He said. Yuki nodded sadly.

"Do you think we can change it?" She asked. Axel looked at her again.

"We can always change it." He stated simply. Yuki looked up at him with a soft smile. Axel grinned at her in return. "Got it memorized?" He asked. Yuki laughed a little, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Yeah." Yuki answered. "I've got it memorized."

X frowned looking out the window of Yen Sid's office. The sorcerer sat at his desk, flipping through a book. He had been pretty much the entire time since X had been here. It didn't really surprise X. They didn't have much to talk about. Yen Sid was still convinced X was a monster.

X wasn't sure if he really was a monster or not. He knew he had done wrong before. A lot of things were his fault. Maybe not entirely, but he had a hand in it at least. And he was a Heartless. Those were supposed to be monsters no matter what. But he had seen Heartless that were so human it was alarming.

Of course, he was thinking of his sister and the little princess. Both of them were all but human. He'd seen his sister cry several times since she had lost her heart. Out of frustration, or sadness, or laughter if it was a good day. Sometimes it almost convinced him he hadn't completely destroyed her life. But in the end, he always remembered he had.

As for the the little princess. She radiated emotions. Anger and happiness. Sadness and laughter. Hope and despair. X frequently forgot she was a Heartless. Nothing so human could be a monster of the darkness. But she was, somehow. X always wondered why she had given up her heart. What a child could gain by becoming a monster.

"I am curious, creature of darkness, do you know what befell those you seek to redeem yourself to?" Yen Sid asked, suddenly jarring X from his thoughts. X looked at the chair slowly.

"Probably more than you know about the matter." X said calmly. Yen Sid made no verbal reply, but X suspected he might have nodded.

"Organization XIII is making their move. But what of your kind? Are there more?" Yen Sid asked. X chuckled and looked back out the window.

"I suppose you mean more who look like me?" X asked. Yen Sid had to know of the countless number of smaller Heartless. But the elites kept to the shadows for the most part. "Yes, there's more. But not all are threats. Depends if the Lady of the Shadows is still helping her old friend." X continued.

"Lady of the Shadows?" Yen Sid asked curiously. X smirked and returned his gaze to out the window. He was amazed Yen Sid had no idea who he was up against. The Heartless organization had existed for far longer than the Nobodies had. Some of the organization members had to be older than Yen Sid. Unless the old wizard had seen the ancient keyblade war.

"That's the leader. Tayressa." X explained simply. "She's an old friend of Master Xehanort's. Trained together, if I do recall correctly." He continued. Yen Sid was silent for a time after X's words. He was processing the new information.

"And do you believe she will act?" Yen Sid finally asked. X frowned and paced away from the window to the front of the desk. The wizard that was seated there looked at him calmly.

"No. I think she'll wait." X said simply. "But, I wouldn't be surprised if a few of the others make an appearance. They're kinda nosey." He walked away from the desk to the bookshelf on the opposite wall. The titles were all obscure and strange. "Do you have a reason for all your questions, or just trying to annoy me enough to walk away?" X asked.

"I worry this may only be the beginning." Yen Sid replied. X laughed and shook his head.

"You really are the wise one, aren't you?" X asked, looking over his shoulder to the wizard. "This is only the start, and it's only going to get worse."


	2. Chapter I

**Chapter I; The Memory Theif**

Y frowned and leaned against her computer desk. She looked over her shoulder at the man in the black coat who behaved as a messenger between her and DiZ. As always she couldn't see his face, so she had no guess as to who he was or what he was thinking. She hoped he was at least slightly annoyed. She herself was very annoyed by the situation.

"What do you mean? Nobodies?" Y asked, her face resting on the keyboard in front of her. She really didn't care about the marks it would leave, though it was a bit uncomfortable.

"DiZ says some have managed to find their way into town. Be on your guard." The man replied. His deep voice was rather familiar. But who exactly it belonged to Y couldn't remember. Y sighed and pushed herself back into a sitting position.

"Alright." She agreed calmly. "I guess that means I have to keep a closer eye on him." She decided. The hooded figure nodded in agreement.

"He cannot be taken." He said. Y sighed and looked down at her keyboard sadly.

"I hear ya." She agreed rather quietly. She blinked back tears before looking up again to speak. "I'll be sure he stays in the dark and I'll keep an eye out for anything weird too." She promised.

Y didn't notice when the hooded man left. She really didn't care all that much, but she did remind herself she would have to check his heart later. Just to see if she knew him.

It was a curious thing, Y decided. She had joined up with DiZ to interfere and hopefully separate the two. But DiZ had placed her inside the digital town to babysit. Y wasn't sure if that was a sign he trusted her, or a sign he wanted her as far from the action as possible. The bright side was she was allowed access to a computer and was helping to program the town. Mostly she spent her time patching holes, but sometimes she could create things that meant something.

Y sighed searching through her countless stacks of notes. She knew the coding for the forest was somewhere. But she had no clue where somewhere was. She frowned as she picked up a stack with a picture on it. She riffled through the papers quickly and set them down again. Y gave a heavy sigh and placed her hands on her hips.

A strange sound like hissing caught her attention. Y blinked and slowly turned to face the direction she had heard the hissing from. There was nothing but a wall with papers all pinned up. A map of the town with bugged areas marked. Y frowned and turned back around. She was probably just jumpy from being stuck in the town with the looming threat of Nobodies.

Y picked up the same stack of papers she just had and flipped through them again. She frowned as she set the papers down. The picture on the top was missing. Y blinked a few times and looked back to where the hissing sound had been.

"That's probably a sign I should go check on them." Y said to herself.

Y could only guess the group she was supposed to be watching was in their usual hideout. It was unfortunately almost across town from the place Y had set up her workspace. That meant a lot of walking. Y reached the usual place to find the group of four in the middle of a strange conversation.

"All our - are, gone? Huh?" The blonde boy with brown hair said. Hayner was his name if Y remembered correctly. Y frowned as she tried to understand him. Was the system glitching again?

"Huh? You can't say -? Why not?" Olette, the only girl in the group, asked. Y frowned once again trying to figure out what the word was. Nothing she was coming up with really fit, but they were entertaining thoughts.

"But you do understand what I'm saying, right?" Pence, the brunette boy asked. "Our - are gone!" He insisted.

"Ok, I don't know what you guys are trying to say, but I'm really confused now." Y said suddenly. The entire group of four jumped and turned to face her. Hayner narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms. Y guessed that meant he wasn't in a good mood. He didn't seem to ever be in one now that she thought about it. Must have been his programming.

"Oh, Y. You're not here to accuse us of stealing the - too are you?" Hayner asked. Y nodded in understanding. Right, the thief running around town that everyone was assuming was the group of four in front of her.

"Oh, that's what you're trying to say. -." Y said. She frowned when she was unable to say the word. That was an extremely strange glitch. Not something that could have just occurred. "And now I can't say it. So, unless you all know some serious magic I'm going to go with you're not the thieves. So one of your - was stolen too?" Y asked. She sighed heavily. At least the blanks in their sentences had clear meaning now.

"Stolen..." Roxas agreed softly. Y frowned as she looked up at him. She was trying to avoid that at all cost. Every time she looked at him she could only feel guilt. "And not just the -. The word -! They stole it too!" Roxas continued.

"What kinda thief is that? Seifer could never have pulled that off." Hayner decided. Roxas nodded in agreement.

"Yeah!" He said.

"All right, time for some recon!" Hayner said. He, Olette, and Pence ran out of the usual spot, brushing past Y as they did so. Roxas went to follow after them but began stumbling and swaying. Y sighed and turned to walk away as Roxas fell to the ground.

"Could make it a little less obvious guys," Y muttered to herself.

Y didn't waste her time wandering with the group of four friends. If she did that she probably wouldn't get any good information. Instead, she did her own form of recon. She returned to her workplace and logged onto the computer. She skimmed over the coding trying to find any hole that could have caused such a strange occurrence. It quickly became clear there was nothing simple to blame for the missing word. That left the choice of outsiders.

Y let out another heavy sigh and logged off her computer. Next step was to figure out why the town was convinced the group of four were the thieves. Asking around town it soon became apparent. All of the missing items were of Roxas. Somehow. Who else would want them but him?

Y was just about to find the group once again when the hissing sound returned. Y froze where she was glancing around. The hissing sound persisted, so Y guessed whatever it was was still around.

Y caught movement out of the corner of her eye causing her to turn as quickly as she could. A white creature flipped through the air hissing as it moved away from Y. Y groaned in annoyance. A Dusk, already. The system must have had more openings than she thought it did.

Y followed the Dusk all the way to the Sandlot. The Dusk escaped her sight hiding somewhere along the walls. In the center of the Sandlot Roxas was just finishing a fight with a blonde boy named Seifer. Roxas, of course, had beaten Seifer with no challenge. No kid could hope to beat Roxas. Not with the experience he had. With or without his memories.

"Seifer's not feelin' so hot, you know?" A muscular boy with brown hair said as he jumped in front of Seifer with a girl with bluish silver hair. Rai and Fuu were their names if Y could remember correctly.

"Tournament decides," Fuu said simply. Y watched as Pence took out his camera and positioned it on the scene in front of him. As the camera flashed the Dusk appeared once again. The Dusk grabbed the camera and the product that it had just produced before fleeing toward the tram common.

"What was that?"Hayner asked in confusion.

"The thief!" Olette said in realization.

"It's heading for the tram common!" Y yelled as she ran through the Sandlot. Roxas and his friends followed her, though only Roxas could keep up with her.

Following the Dusk was almost too easy. It blew past the tram common and went straight into the forest outside of town. Somewhere along the way Hayner, Pence, and Olette stopped running with them. It was only Roxas and Y who made it to the old mansion. Y hung back as Roxas slowly stepped toward the Dusk.

"Huh?"Roxas said in confusion. The Dusk responded by unzipping its mouth and hissing before attacking Roxas. Roxas rolled to the side to avoid the attack. He raised the struggle bat he was still holding to defend himself, but the Dusk wasn't phased by the useless piece of rubber. Y looked around for anything she could use. Getting out her keyblade wasn't an option. Then it would be far too obvious something was wrong. Roxas couldn't know that yet. "It's no use," Roxas said in annoyance. The struggle bat was suddenly covered in a swirl of data. In bright light, it was replaced by the plain silver and gold keyblade that Roxas had used while with the organization. "What, what is this thing?" Roxas asked as he looked at the keyblade. The Dusk hissed angrily rearing back in preparation of an attack.

"Roxas!" Y yelled in warning. Roxas raised the keyblade to defend himself. He once again took on the Dusk in a fight. This time the Dusk had no chance. Roxas easily beat back the Dusk, destroying it. When the Dusk vanished all the lost pictures returned, scattering across the ground along with Pence's camera.

Y and Roxas gathered up all the pictures in silence. The keyblade had conveniently vanished after the fight. Y flipped through the pictures as she gathered them. She couldn't find the one she was looking for. She really didn't want Roxas to see that one. She didn't have a good explanation ready.

Back at the usual spot Y, Roxas, Hayner, Pence, and Olette gathered around the pictures. Pence was holding the stack flipping through all the pictures. As Y had thought, all of the pictures were of Roxas in some way.

"What's this?" Hayner asked as they flipped through the pictures.

"I was his first customer after he took over the shop. So we took a picture together." Roxas explained calmly. Olette giggled a little.

"It's a really nice photo. Oh!" She said in surprise. Pence turned to her in surprise.

"Hey! You just said photo!" He said. Hayner didn't seem interested in what was going on. He had turned his attention to Roxas and Y excitedly.

"So, Roxas, Y- tell us about the picture thief," Hayner demanded. Roxas shrugged in response, rubbing the back of his head.

"Not much to say. The pictures were just lying there." He said. Y nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. It was like he stole them just to drop them in front of the mansion." She said. Roxas glanced at her and smiled softly. Y supposed he didn't want the rest know about the white thing he had fought.

"Then how do we prove we weren't the ones who took 'em?" Hayner asked. Roxas only replied with a shrug. Hayner looked at the stack of pictures and smirked. He chuckled looking over at Roxas again. "It's a girl." He teased.

"You look happy Roxas," Olette said, joining in Hayner's teasing.

"Do not." Roxas snapped. Y giggled as she took the picture off the top of the stack. She smiled down at the picture.

"That one's mine," Y announced. She was glad it was only that one, to be honest. She had made a few pictures with the computer. This one was the easiest one to explain. The picture was of Roxas sitting on top of the clock tower with a raven-haired girl beside him. Both were laughing and smiling.

"I don't really remember that one," Roxas said with a frown. Y shrugged it off.

"It was when my cousin came to visit. You two got along pretty well." Y said not making eye contact. She hoped it was enough to pass it off. Roxas didn't seem to want to drop the subject so easily. Luckily Pence interrupted.

"So, like, anybody else notice that all the stolen pictures are of Roxas?" Pence asked. Y nodded glad to have something else she could use to switch the conversation.

"Yeah, that's why everyone thought you guys were the thieves." Y said.

"You mean Seifer didn't go around accusing us after all?" Hayner asked almost sounding disappointed.

"Are they really all of me?" Roxas asked looking over the stack of pictures.

"Yep," Pence said spreading out the pictures. As promised Roxas was in every single one. "See."

"Look!" Olette said in surprise.

"Right? Every single one." Pence agreed. "Wouldn't it be weird if the thief wanted to steal the real Roxas or something?" He suggested. Y rolled her eyes at the conspiracy theory, no matter how true it was.

"C'mon, get serious. Why would anyone wanna steal a bonehead like Roxas?" Hayner said brushing it off.

"Oh, thanks!" Roxas said, shoving Hayner playfully.

"I don't know Hayner. I'm pretty sure you're just jealous someone would rather steal Roxas over you." Y teased earning a laugh from the group. Y felt herself smile a real smile despite what she knew. Maybe this wasn't such a bad way to spend his last days.

Yuki pushed open the doors to the old mansion in Twilight Town. Her bright blue eyes looked around carefully. She hadn't been here since her last conversation with Naminé. She had been warned to stay away from that place, DiZ wouldn't want her in the way. It was too close to where Roxas was hidden. But Yuki really didn't care anymore. It's not like she had anything else to lose.

"Hey! DiZ!" Yuki called out. She walked farther into the room, letting the door close behind her. Hearing nothing she stepped forward again. "DiZ!" She yelled again. Yuki only had to wait a short time before the man in red slowly crossed the hall between the two staircases.

"And what has brought you here, monarch of darkness?" The man asked. His yellow eye was focused on Yuki with nothing but contempt. Yuki frowned, ignoring his strange words. He had always said things like that, and Yuki had stopped caring a long time ago.

"I'm going to pretend I know what you're talking about," Yuki said. She turned and paced around the room, looking at the broken display cases. "Just thought since you were so worried about me getting in your way I'd let you know I'm not with the organization anymore." She said casually. DiZ watched her for a moment. She tried not to flinch under his cold gaze.

"That seems like something trivial to walk into your enemies encampment to announce," DiZ said calmly. Yuki smirked a little to herself and nodded. He was seeing through her too easily.

"Yeah, there was something else I wanted to check," Yuki admitted.

"Really?" DiZ asked. He sounded genuinely curious. Yuki guessed he didn't think she would want to ask him anything. She hated him too much.

"Do you know who Xion is?" Yuki asked. Yuki put her hand in her pocket, brushing it across the shell she carried with her. The only thing left of her friend.

"I cannot say I have heard the name," DiZ said calmly. Yuki sighed and looked to the ground.

"Figures," Yuki said with a shrug. She looked up at DiZ once again. "Think I could talk to Nami for a quick second?" She asked. DiZ only scoffed.

"Naminé is far too busy to waste time on you." He said. Yuki chuckled lightly to herself.

"Also figures. Well, I'll be going." Yuki said. She turned toward the door but stopped. She looked over her shoulder calmly. "Oh, how's Sora?" She asked. DiZ glared at her but didn't say a thing. Yuki laughed a little and turned back to face DiZ a hand on her hip. "I'm not going to hurt him. I was just wondering. I can kinda remember him now. Still really fuzzy, but I remember." She continued calmly. "Is he getting better?" She asked. DiZ continued to glare at him in a stony silence. Yuki sighed and shook her head. "Ok, I get it. Hope I never have to see you again."

Yuki turned and walked out the door. She pulled the seashell from her pocket and frowned down at it. She really was the only one to remember. Not even DiZ who had destroyed her. Yuki sighed and put the seashell back in her pocket. She didn't know what she was going to do. What was left for her to do?

* * *

_A/N: Here's the first actual chapter of the story! Thanks for all the support you guys give as always reviews are appreciated!_

_Gry22- I honestly hadn't thought about that, but now that you brought it up there's a possibility of something like that happening later on in the series._


	3. Chapter II

**Chapter II; Holding Back**

Y frowned as she watched DiZ where he sat at the computer. He was turned to face both her and the hooded man. The man wrapped in a red scarf was tense. Y guessed that meant he was angry. Not that she could blame him for that. She tugged on her silver gloves that went up the length of her arm. She couldn't show off her Heartless emblem, so it had come to this.

"Organization miscreants. They've found us." DiZ said. As Y had suspected he was angry. She leaned back with a frown as she kicked her feet back and forth. She was sitting on some metal box, probably filled with electronics.

"But why would they steal photographs?" The hooded man asked. Y glanced to him out of the corner of her eye. He almost felt like another Heartless. Perhaps the one they had called Ansem. But he had been defeated. So perhaps it wasn't.

"It was just Dusks, for now, they aren't the smartest." Y explained. The hooded man turned his attention to her for a brief moment. Looking at her he would never guess how she was involved with DiZ. Or why. She wore simple white clothing for the most part. White shorts and a white tank top with a black feather on the front. She had a gold belt and black socks that reached her knees. The strangest thing about her were her eyes and hair, neither seemed really natural. Her orange eyes seemed to see past the exterior and into the heart.

"Both are nothing but data to them. The fools could never tell the difference. We are running out of time. Naminé must make haste." DiZ said turning the hooded man's attention away from Y. She frowned at the mention of the blonde Nobody. She hadn't seen much of her. DiZ was working her too hard.

"Until then we need more of a presence in town. I can't babysit Roxas and take out Dusks at the same time. Not to mention I still have to patch the holes in the system too." Y said. DiZ nodded slowly and turned to look at the hooded man. Y guessed that meant he would be dropping by more often. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but it was something.

When Y returned to the town it was a new day. Which meant Roxas had a new goal. Some task that was meant to keep him busy for the day. Y had run into Roxas earlier that day, quite literally. But she hadn't asked him what he was up to. She was too busy regretting her decision. Working in the town gave her no chance of separating Roxas from his other. She didn't have the time, and she didn't have her friends.

Y frowned looking at the posters in her hand. They were for the Struggle tournament in a few days. Roxas was the only reason she knew that. She wasn't really sure what Struggle was. Some game she guessed.

"Hey Y!" Y stopped and turned to face whoever it was that had yelled for her attention. Of course it was Roxas. Y smiled softy as Roxas approached her.

"I didn't do it." Y stated. Roxas laughed at her reaction. Y smiled despite her feeling of guilt.

"Do you think you have any jobs I could do to earn extra munny? Hayner is insisting we go to the beach." Roxas asked. Y frowned and tapped her chin. Most of her jobs involved programming. And she really couldn't ask Roxas to do that.

"The beach? Sounds fun." Y said. She hoped DiZ had a plan. There was no beach programmed in. Y sighed. "You know, I still have to finish up my summer project for school. Think you can finish putting up these posters?" Y asked.

"Sure." Roxas agreed without missing a beat. He took the stack of posters from Y still smiling brightly.

"Let me know when you're done, I'll pay you then." Y said, smiling in return.

"Thanks." Roxas said before he darted off. Y watched him for a moment with a sad smile. She sighed before returning to her home in the town.

Y sat at her computer desk and put on a headset. DiZ didn't usually speak to her directly, but sometimes he decided there was something he couldn't figure out and Y had to do it from inside the town. It also helped her focus when she had music playing. She didn't want to be sidetracked in the middle of patching part of the system. That had happened before and it had resulted in a strange glitch.

When Y glanced over her shoulder she was almost surprised to see the hooded man leaning against the wall. His attention seemed to be on the map behind her. Y narrowed her eyes and slowly changed them from orange to yellow. As she thought the hooded man did indeed have a heart. A heart that wasn't light, but wasn't dark either. Y frowned as her eyes returned to normal and she looked back to the computer screen.

"What's the plan?" Y asked as she continued typing. "DiZ isn't really going to let him go to the beach. I don't have time to program that in." She continued calmly. She wasn't focused much on the computer. She was too busy trying to place the man's familiar heart. She smiled softly as she came to a realization.

"He'll be stopped." The man said simply. Y rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, that's descriptive." She said. The two fell into silence, only the sound of clicking keys filling the room. The typing stopped and Y groaned, putting her forehead to the desk. "Oh you've got to be joking."

"What is it?" The hooded man asked, stepping off the wall. Y sat up again and leaned back.

"There are way more holes in this system than I thought. I'm not sure I can patch them all." Y explained. She made a few quick key strokes and frowned. "Think we can keep them away from sunset terrace? That entire system is buggy, it'll take me awhile to patch enough for it to be passable." She said. The hooded man nodded.

"I'll inform DiZ." He said. Y waved off his concern.

"He should be able to see it himself." She said. With heavy sigh Y turned her chair to face the hooded man. She stretched, putting her hands behind her head. "Man, Sora is such a pain. How'd you handle him for so long?" Y asked. The man turned to look at her in surprise.

"Huh?" He asked. Y smiled at him calmly.

"You're his friend, right?" Y asked. She received no answer. She sighed before continuing. "That's why you're helping him." Y waited for the hooded man to reply. It struck her as odd. He should really only be a teenager. Something close to 16. But he looked so much older.

"How did you know?" He asked slowly. Y smiled looking him over. Though it had been years she could still see it. His heart that was so similar.

"Cause I know you're not Ansem." Y said simply. The man nodded in admittance. "I figured, you're still a lot like him." She continued. The man looked toward her. Y couldn't see his face, but she guessed he was frowning. She couldn't blame him.

"Like him?" He asked.

"Eh, you'll figure it out." Y said with a shrug. A knock on her front door cut the conversation short. "And that'll be Roxas. I gotta go pay him." Y said as she stood up. She grabbed a munny pouch off her desk and went to answer the door. As predicted when she opened the door Roxas was there.

"Done." Roxas stated simply. Y laughed a little and fished through her pouch of munny.

"Thought as much. Here's 50 munny." She said handing it over. Roxas took it with a smile.

"Thanks." He said. He turned to walk away but stopped. "Hey, you want to come too?" He offered. Y laughed.

"Anything to get away from homework. I have enough munny for myself anyway." Y decided.

"C'mon, I was just going to meet up with Hayner and the others." Roxas said, motioning as he took off toward the station plaza. Or at least that was where Y assumed he was heading.

At the station, the rest of Roxas's gang had gathered together. Hayner seemed to be making some kind of a joke that was getting the other two to laugh. Roxas began to smile the moment he saw them. Y smiled herself as he ran over to the group.

"Hey guys, Y's gonna come too." Roxas said. The group glanced over to Y before exchanging a look. Pence shrugged turning back to Y and Roxas.

"Great, the more the merrier." Pence said.

"Yeah." Olette agreed. Hayner remained silent, but Y supposed that was because he was outvoted.

"What've we got?" Pence asked.

"Let' see," Roxas said as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a sizeable pile of munny. Y didn't know what else Roxas had done, but she imagined it had been a lot. "Just this." He said calmly.

"Good job." Hayner said, clearly impressed with his best friends work. Olette took the munny and did some quick math putting the munny into a bright orange pouch.

"Nice work, everyone. Added to what we started with we now have," Olette held out her munny pouch with a bright smile. "Tada! 5000 munny!"

"Sweet!" Hayner said in surprise. Y laughed and leaned over to Roxas.

"How much of that was you?" Y asked.

"Most of it." Roxas whispered back as he took the pouch from Olette. Y laughed a little looking back at the group. Not surprising that Roxas would do most of the work. He had always done more than what he had to.

"Let's get tickets!" Olette said.

Y followed Pence and Olette up the steps to the station. She glanced over her shoulder at Roxas and Hayner. The two boys were talking about something. It was serious from the looks on their faces. Hayner jokingly punched Roxas's shoulder before running up to meet the group on the steps. Roxas went to follow after him but tripped over a stick that was strategically thrown at his feet. As Roxas pushed himself up the hooded man appeared beside him. Y sighed heavily as the hood man pulled Roxas to his feet.

"Roxas! Three minutes!" Hayner called out catching Roxas's attention.

"Okay!" Roxas called. He turned back toward the hooded man, but he had vanished when Roxas had turned away. Roxas stood for a moment in confusion before running to catch up with the group.

Hayner was the one to go up to the teller.

"Five students." Hayner said.

"Roxas the munny!" Pence said. Roxas nodded and reached into his pocket. He frowned and looked down.

"Wait." He said as he rummaged through his pockets. "No!" He exclaimed rather suddenly making Y jump in surprise.

"Huh?" Hayner asked as Roxas turned to look back at the plaza where he had fallen.

"He took it!" Roxas exclaimed before he took off back to the plaza. Y looked at the group in confusion. Luckily they all seemed just as confused as her.

"Where are you going?" Olette called after Roxas.

"Remember when I fell?" Roxas asked, stopping to turn and face them.

"It was hardly five minutes ago, I think we remember." Y said calmly.

"I had the munny before that. I bet that guy took it!" Roxas insisted. Y bit her lip nervously trying to think of how to explain that away. It was annoying that they acted without reason sometimes.

"Guy?" Hayner asked slowly, pulling Y from her thoughts.

"He couldn't have gotten too far." Roxas insisted.

"What are you talking about?" Hayner asked. Roxas looked at him in confusion. "There was no guy." Hayner continued. Roxas looked at him in confusion yet again.

"Huh? But he..." Roxas trailed off looking at the plaza. He turned back to the four watching him. His blue eyes were narrowed in confusion as if trying to remember. "There wasn't? Really?" He asked. A train whistle stopped any reply Roxas might have gotten.

"Oh boy." Pence said a little sadly.

"There wasn't anyone there?" Roxas asked once again. A silence greeted his question. Y frowned looking around at the four friends.

"C'mon. I have an idea." Y said suddenly. Roxas looked up at her slowly. She smiled brightly before walking out to the plaza, not looking to see if the others followed her.

It didn't take long for the five of them to be sitting on top of the station tower. Pence was farthest from Y, where Axel used to sit. Hayner was beside him in what would normally have been Roxas's spot. Olette was beside him where Yuki sat. Roxas was in X's spot, and Y sat where she usually did. Each one had an ice cream that Y had bought. It seemed like the best way to cheer up Roxas after the strange stunt the hooded man had pulled.

"It's melting." Olette said. Roxas jumped, looking at the ice cream he had hardly touched.

"Sorry." Roxas said sheepishly. He was still lost in his thoughts. Y's plan wasn't working well enough.

"Cheer up already!" Hayner ordered.

"That was definitely weird though," Roxas said.

"No one's saying it's not." Y agreed calmly.

"Strange." Olette agreed.

"You said it." Hayner said.

"Can you feel Sora?" Roxas asked. It took Y a moment to realize he was quoting something. And it took her another second to realize it was what the hooded man had said to him. Y sighed in frustration. It was almost as if they wanted Roxas to remember before it was time.

Y sat on the same box she had the last time she was in the computer room with DiZ and the hooded man. They almost seemed to not have moved at all. Except the hooded man was tossing the bright orange munny pouch he had stolen.

"Is it really that hard to make a beach?" The hooded man asked.

"In that short of a time span it is." Y said simply. She leaned against her own knee, her foot up on the box with the rest of her.

"We'd be giving the enemy another entry point." DiZ explained further. The hooded man nodded in understanding.

"And this?" The hooded man asked as he stopped tossing the pouch. He held it out for DiZ to see. DiZ looked at the pouch with a grin that didn't fit his face. Y decided he should avoid making facial expression besides his usual grim frown.

"We can always buy some sea-salt ice cream." DiZ suggested. He laughed shortly before turning back to the computer. "Objects from that town must be kept out of the real world. You can delete that." He decided. The hooded man nodded and began tossing the pouch again

"That Heartless was here again." He said suddenly. Y looked up in confusion. What Heartless? Why had she not been informed of a Heartless in the area? She was the only one with a keyblade after all.

"When? I have not seen her." DiZ responded. Just from the mention of this Heartless, he was already clearly more agitated. Y thought it strange they used gendered pronouns. Must have been an elite Heartless.

"She was in town. She's been hanging around town quite often." The hooded man explained.

"You may have to take care of that. She may become a nuisance." DiZ said. Y frowned and dropped her leg, kicking her feet back and forth.

"Which Heartless are we talking about?" Y asked. She was surprised when she got an answer almost right away.

"The monarch. She has abandoned her own kind." DiZ said calmly. Y blinked in surprise. She didn't think Yuki was still around town. She figured Yuki would have gone to find someplace else. Maybe be with friends in other worlds.

"Why?" The hooded man asked.

"Tired of being a pawn." Y answered. DiZ and the hooded man looked to her in shock. Y had forgotten they didn't know a thing about her past. Y sighed and leaned back calmly. "She won't get in the way." Y said.

"And you're certain?" DiZ asked. Y nodded.

"Yeah." She said. Yuki was too confused to act out. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't know where to start.

"How?" The hooded man asked. Y rolled her eyes.

"I know her." Y explained simply. DiZ snickered and narrowed his eyes at Y. Y met his gaze calmly.

"You seem to become more unusual by the day. Knowing the Heartless monarch along with knowing what you do about the organization." DiZ said calmly. Y smiled at him sweetly.

"Aren't we both just full of surprises." Y said. DiZ didn't reply, only turned back to the computer. Y dropped her smile as soon as he turned. She really did not like him. It was a shame he was the only one who really knew what was going on.


	4. Chapter III

**Chapter III; Enigma **

Y frowned looking between the computer screen in front of her and the blonde Nobody beside her. The girl was looking at her hands that were nervously clasped together. Y supposed it had taken her a great amount of courage to ask what she was. She had never heard Naminé speak all that much in general. Let alone ask for favors that were definitely breaking rules.

"You want to get in the Town." Y said simply. Naminé nodded.

"Please." She asked. Y looked back to the computer screen with a frown. She didn't like the idea. It just made it seem like Roxas would realize something was up much faster. But at the same time, she hated how DiZ treated Naminé. Anything small she could do to spite him sounded like a good plan to her.

"Fine. I can get you in and monitor it for you." Y decided. She heardNaminé's breath catch in surprise. She must not have expected Y to agree. Which Y really understood. She decided not to comment on it. "What do you plan on telling him?" Y asked.

"I just, wanted to meet him. Before it was too late." Naminé said nervously. Y glanced over her shoulder at her and nodded with a frown. That was a lie. She wanted to tell him something. But Y wasn't going to get in her way. Part of Y wanted him to know. Then maybe he could escape before it was too late.

"Ok." Y agreed softly.

Y didn't see Naminé for a great majority of the day. She did pass by in the tram common, heading toward the woods and the manor. But other than that the blonde Nobody stayed out of Y's sight. Y was surprised to see Roxas run into the tram common looking around almost desperately looked around. When he saw Y he quickly ran over to her.

"Hey, Y. Have you seen a girl in white pass by?" Roxas asked. Y nodded slowly.

"Um, yeah. She just went into the woods. Do you know her?" Y asked. Roxas shook his head quickly.

"No, she just kinda showed up and no one else could see her." He explained. Y frowned in annoyance. Definitely messing with what Roxas knew. But Y didn't have it in her to object anymore.

"Weird. Like that guy yesterday." Y said softly. Roxas looked at her shocked. Y did her best not to react.

"You saw him too?" Roxas asked. Y paused for a moment. It was no use lying, not after already admitting to seeing the girl in white who had to be Naminé.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I didn't want to make the others think I was crazy." Y said. Roxas smiled at her sympathetically.

"Why don't we find that girl maybe she knows something." Roxas suggested. Y smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Y agreed.

Roxas led the way into the forest. They soon found themselves in the forest facing a strange silvery grey circle floating in the air. Roxas slowly approached it. Y reached out to hold him back, but he didn't notice. As he drew closer to the silvery grey circle a Dusk slipped out followed by two others. They jumped forward and grabbed hold of Roxas attempting to drag him to the hole.

"Lemme go!" Roxas exclaimed as he pulled from the Dusks.

"Roxas run!" Y yelled. She pulled Roxas's arm and ran back into town. Much to her dismay, the Dusks followed them. Y didn't want to have to fight them. But she didn't want to leave it to Roxas again. Then he might remember too much.

Y tried losing the Dusks in town. They ran through every twist and turn Y knew until they ended up in the Sandlot. Much to her annoyance, the Sandlot wasn't empty. Seifer and his gang were hanging around as always.

"Hey, chicken wuss." Seifer said. Roxas skidded to a halt to look at him. Y groaned in annoyance, stopping as well.

"We do not have time for this." Y muttered looking over her shoulder as the Dusks entered the Sandlot.

"Who's that?" Fuu asked. She jumped as if readying herself to fight. Rai followed her lead while Vivi ran off to the side making no effort to fight.

"I dunno, but they've already crossed the line. Find a weapon!" Seifer ordered. As much as Y didn't want to take orders from a computer program she did, picking up a struggle bat as Roxas did.

The fight against the Dusks with struggle bats was useless. Y realized that right away. But Y didn't want to risk pulling out her keyblade. After the attempted battle went on for a short time Seifer and his gang froze. Y stopped and looked at them in confusion. Roxas too stopped, giving the Dusks time to regroup.

"Not good." Roxas muttered as the Dusks slowly approached him and Y.

"Roxas! Use the keyblade!" Roxas and Y looked up toward the voice to see Naminé looking down on them. Her blue eyes were wide with worry. One of the Dusks attacked Roxas and he went to deflect the attack before falling to the ground.

Y drew her keyblade and made quick work of the Dusks. She sighed as she crouched beside Roxas and banished her keyblade. Y gently placed a hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes with a deep breath.

When Y opened her eyes she was in a white room, leaning against a wall that Naminé was sitting on top of. Y didn't acknowledge the blonde Nobody, just waited. Soon enough Roxas appeared in front of them looking around in confusion. First he looked at Y in question. She only smiled softly and looked to Naminé. Roxas followed her eyes and looked at Naminé. He was about to speak, but Naminé cut him off by placing her finger to her lips.

"My name is Naminé." She introduced. "Roxas, do you remember your true name?" She asked. Roxas frowned but before he could answer the hooded man appeared and roughly grabbed hold of Naminé's arm.

"Say no more Naminé." He said calmly. Y glared at the man.

"She's hardly said anything." Y objected. The man ignored her outburst.

"But if no one tells him, Roxas will-" Naminé attempted to argue. The man cut her off.

"It's best he doesn't know." The man said.

"Says you." Y snapped.

"Hey! You're that pickpocket!" Roxas yelled. The man only acknowledged him by pushing Roxas through a dark corridor. Y glared at the man before returning her self to the program with her own dark corridor.

"Seifer, strike a pose, y'know?" Rai's voice said. Y was crouched beside Roxas who was having difficulties waking up.

"How's this?" Seifer said.

"That's totally perfect, y'know!" Rai said as Fuu took pictures. Y held back her urge to snap at them for being idiots. "How 'bout one more, y'know?" Y glared as Roxas began pushing himself up.

"What's that for!?" Roxas asked as he got to his feet, Y beside him.

"Keepsake." Fuu said simply.

"Those freaks in the white jumpsuits are gone, y'know?" Rai said.

"Cakewalk." Fuu agreed.

"What were those things?" Roxas asked slowly. Seifer snickered.

"Outsiders, that's what. And if they don't wise up to the rise around here, I might have to take 'disciplinary measure'." Seifer said. Y rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, Seifer's always lookin' after the town, y'know?" Rai said. Roxas was about to ask more, but stopped when he saw his group of friends. They turned and walked away leaving Roxas and Y.

"Wait up!" Roxas yelled before following after them.

"Hey! No chickening out of the tournament tomorrow!" Seifer yelled after Roxas.

"We'll be waitin', y'know?" Rai added. Y sighed heavily before walking away. She had no need to linger. DiZ would probably be wanting a word with her shortly anyway. Naminé being in the system could only be linked to Y as she controlled a great amount of what got in.

Y wandered for a short time, not wanting to return to the man who was very controlling and cruel. Her wandering ended when she came face to face with Roxas once again.

"Hey, I wanted to talk to you." Roxas said as he approached Y. Y stopped walking and smiled calmly.

"Sure, what's up?" Y asked. She had a good idea of where this was going but she wasn't going to make that known. It was better if Roxas didn't know, as much as Y hated to admit the hooded man was right.

"What was that white room?" Roxas asked. Y frowned and raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance.

"White room?" Y asked slowly.

"You know, where Naminé and that guy were." Roxas prompted. Y's frown deepened.

"I'm not following." She lied.

"When we were being chased by those guys in white." Roxas said, his face slowly falling. Y fought her urge to drop the act. Though she knew he wasn't, he still looked so much like Ven it hurt to see him sad.

"You passed out. And by some miracle, Seifer managed to scare those guys off." Y said calmly. Roxas frowned.

"So you didn't see any of that?" Roxas asked. Y shook her head. "But you were there." He said. Y shrugged.

"I really don't know what you're talking about. That girl just vanished." She said. Roxas sighed and nodded.

"Oh, thanks anyway." Roxas said softly.

"No problem." Y said. "You patch things up with Hayner?" She asked. Judging from how the other blonde had walked away from the Sandlot he was angry.

"No, he's still mad." Roxas said.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it'll pass." Y said. With one last smile, she walked off. Hopefully, DiZ had had enough time to cool down.

As it quickly became apparent DiZ did not have enough time to cool off. The glares Y received several glares that made it clear her actions were not going unnoticed.

"Was that Naminé made of data?" The hooded man asked after Y had taken her normal position.

"No. Naminé convinced Y to allow her into the data herself." DiZ said, glaring at Y. Y only shrugged in response. "Look what she's done now. She's totally beyond my control!" DiZ snapped, slamming his fist down on the desk. Y leaned back and blinked in surprise.

"Ok." Y said in a placating way.

"Calm down." The hooded man near ordered. DiZ took a breath before continuing.

"It doesn't matter. As long as Naminé accomplishes her goal we needn't worry about what befalls Roxas." DiZ said after he had calmed himself.

"Unless he gets kidnapped." Y said turning attention to her. "The holes are getting bigger. One of the other Nobodies could break in anytime." She explained.

"Can't you patch them?" DiZ asked. Y shot him a glare.

"I patch one, two more open up. I'm not sure how much longer we can keep them out." She explained. DiZ nodded and turned back to his computer.

"Naminé must hurry then. You must allow her no more distractions." DiZ said, looking at Y with a glare. Y nodded slowly.

"Right, I'll keep that in mind." Y said calmly.

Yuki sighed as she kicked her feet back and forth. As always she found herself on top of the clock tower at sunset. There wasn't anywhere else she could go really. She had taken to spending her days in Hollow Bastion helping out the restoration committee.

"Man Snowy, you really need to find a better place to hang out." Yuki turned to greet the familiar voice. Axel was once again leaning against the wall watching Yuki. She smiled at him before looking back to the sunset.

"I really don't have anywhere else I could go." Yuki said.

"Guess that's true enough." Axel said. He crossed behind Yuki and sat down beside her. "You know much about what's going on with Y?" Axela asked. Yuki shook her head.

"No. I haven't really heard from anyone but you." Yuki said. Axel nodded in understanding. He seemed to think a moment before he continued.

"She's in a place just like this. But not quite the same. Roxas is there." Axel explained. Yuki snapped her head around to look at him.

"What?" She asked quietly. Axel chuckled slightly.

"Yup." He said. He glanced at Yuki slightly grinning. "We have a way in. Multiple actually." He added calmly. Yuki narrowed her eyes at Axel frowning.

"Why are you telling me this?" Yuki asked. Axel sighed and looked down at the ground.

"I know you don't want to get into this. But, I could use your help. The boss has me doing this all on my own." Axel said. Yuki frowned and looked down at the ground. It was a chance to save Roxas. But he would just go right back to the place he ran away from.

"I'm not going to rescue him from DiZ just for him to go back to the organization he ran from." Yuki said. Axel sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that." He said with a sigh. "So how about this. We work together to rescue him, and then we can sort out where he goes after he's out." He suggested. Yuki frowned yet again. Sort it out didn't sound like a very good plan.

"You mean we fight." Yuki whispered. Axel chuckled and ruffled Yuki's hair. She smiled slightly and pushed his hand away.

"Hopefully we can just talk it out. I wouldn't want to have to hurt the both of you." He said calmly. Yuki nodded. It only took her a moment of thinking to make her decision.

"Alright. We'll save Roxas." She decided. Beside her Axel smiled, but he didn't say a word. Yuki wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.


	5. Chapter IV

**Chapter IV; Struggle**

The entirety of Twilight Town seemed to have gathered in the Sandlot. The enclosed space filled with noise as everyone stood around an elevated platform that would be the place all the matches took place. Y stood among the crowd with Olette and Pence, the only two she really deemed as friends despite just being programs. When this was all over she'd have to try talking to the real versions of them.

"Who are you guys going to root for?" Pence asked looking to Olette and Y.

"Both of them silly." Olette said quickly. Y chuckled and looked back to the arena, though none of the combatants were yet visible. Y didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling about this tournament. She almost want to program in an excuse to skip it.

"No, I'm just rooting for Roxas." Y said earning a laugh from Pence and Olette.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Struggle-fiends of Twilight Town! It's time for summer's most sizzling clash!" The announcer said catching the attention of everyone in the Sandlot. His words meant it was almost time for the match to begin. "That's right! Today is the day for the Struggle and title match! Who will be the one to break through the ranks and take on our champion, Setzer!?"

"Seifer, y'know!?" Rai called from the audience to answer the rhetorical question.

"And who will leave today as our new Struggle Champion!?" The announcer asked, unfazed by the feedback.

"Hayner! Roxas!" Olette and Pence cheered.

"Setzer!" Roared the rest of the crowd. The crowd grew steadily louder, as if feeding off the energy filling the air.

"Yes, this crowd is fired up, so you know what comes next. Let's... Struggle!" The announcer yelled, the crowd bursting into cheers once again. He continued on introducing the four who had made it. Roxas, Hayner, Seifer, and, to the surprise of pretty much everyone, Vivi.

The first match was Roxas and Hayner. Roxas seemed kinda down, but Hayner quickly lifted his spirits. The struggle match went one way only. Roxas quickly got the best of Hayner, collecting all the orbs within moments. Luckily for Hayner, the match was called quickly.

"That was great Roxas!" Y said happily as Roxas and Hayner exited the arena and joined their friends.

"Thanks." Roxas said sheepishly.

"Hayner put up a great fight too." Olette said. She smiled encouragingly at Hayner who looked away in annoyance. Y smirked and put a hand on her hip.

"If you count losing badly. Roxas was the one to collect all of the orbs." Y said playfully. Hayner glared at her.

"Hey, no one asked you!" He said. Y giggled as she jumped away from a poorly aimed hit.

"Just joking." Y said quickly. They were stopped from continuing their fight by the announcement of the next fight. Seifer and Vivi.

The fight did not go at all as expected. Vivi had never really been a fighter as Y had seen. He had run away during the only fight she had witnessed him near. That was why it was so strange to see him suddenly capable of beating Seifer with absolutely no trouble. It was almost like Vivi was trying to kill Seifer rather than just win the match.

The match ended and Seifer exited the arena, Vivi going a different direction to wait.

"That's not Vivi," Seifer said as he passed by. Rai and Fuu were right behind him.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"Thrash 'im," Seifer said rather than explain himself any farther.

Roxas and Vivi's fight started with high tension. It was clear to Y now something was wrong. If the program noticed then something was really wrong. But she didn't know what. Vivi looked perfectly normal. He was just suddenly extremely strong. Roxas was still managing, mostly by avoiding as many of Vivi's attacks as possible. But he was managing.

Just as the match would have been called the entire town froze. Only Roxas, Y, and Vivi were still moving. Y did a quick turn around cursing under her breath. Now was not the time. When Y turned back around Vivi had been replaced by three Dusks.

"Again?" Roxas asked. The struggle bat in his hand was replaced by the keyblade. He looked at the key in confusion. "Again..." He said, quieter than he had before.

Before Roxas could put much thought into it he was forced into a fight with the Dusks. Y debated on joining in. Roxas was struggling, but she didn't know she wanted him to know she was involved too much yet. Before she could make her decision Roxas had defeated the Nobodies, leaving nothing but the frozen town. He looked at Y in confusion, his blue eyes looking almost hurt. Y opened her mouth to explain, but stopped when she heard slow clapping.

"Roxas. All right. Fight, fight, fight." A calm voice said. Y and Roxas both turned to see who the voice belonged to. Y frown, looking at the two behind Roxas.

"Oh no." She whispered.

Y didn't have to see the face of the one wearing the black coat of the organization to know who he was. His voice had given him away. Axel's arrival didn't really surprise her. They had been waiting for him anyway. But the ravenette girl beside him, she wasn't planned for.

Yuki had abandoned the white coat the Heartless used to wear, but Y had already known that. The coat had been replaced by a black tank top with a white off the shoulder crop top jacket, with a red hood. She wore black jeans with a red belt around her hips and two red belts crossed like an x on her left thigh holding a small white pouch. She had tall boots that reached her knees and around her neck was a black choker and a chain that held the paopu fruit charm.

Axel took a few steps forward Yuki following close behind them. Roxas frowned as his eyes met with Yuki's. She only smiled at him softly glancing to Axel quickly before looking back to Roxas. Roxas seemed to get her meaning and looked to Axel with his blank stare.

"You really don't remember? It's me. You know, Axel." He said removing his hood to reveal his spiked red hair. Roxas only continued to stare blankly.

"Axel?" He asked slowly. His eyes again went to Yuki before going back to Axel.

"Talk about blank with a capital 'B'. Man oh man, even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one." Axel said in annoyance. In a wheel of flames his chakrams appeared in his hands. Roxas stepped back in fear and Yuki took a slight step forward.

"Wait a sec, tell me what's going on!" Roxas demanded. Axel looked around warily, his eyes ghosting over Y.

"This town is his creation, right?" He asked. Y frowned at the question that she knew he didn't really expect an answer to. "Which means we don't have time for a Q & A. You're coming with us, conscious or not. Then you'll hear the story." Axel said.

"Axel, we can at least explain a little." Yuki said stopping the redhead. Axel nodded and allowed Yuki to step in front of him. She smiled at Roxas once again, hoping to calm him. "Roxas, I know you don't remember us. But we're friends. If you stay here something bad is going to happen. We want to help you." She said calmly. Roxas wavered as if believing her.

"What?" He asked, his keyblade lowering at his side.

"Roxas don't listen!" Y yelled quickly jumping into the arena and standing in front of him. She narrowed her orange eyes at Yuki. "They don't want to help you." Y said, nearly cringing at her own lie. They would help more than her, that was for sure.

"Isn't she your cousin?" Roxas asked quietly. Y frowned. It had been a mistake to create that picture. But it had seemed right at the time. Now too much damage had been done. Y looked at Yuki and was surprised to see her blue eyes looking more like ice than Y had ever seen. The cold look was enough to make Y shiver.

"Cousin? Wow Y. When did you become such a liar?" Yuki asked, her voice filling with the same ice that filled her gaze. Y frowned, ignoring the question.

"You weren't getting involved." Y said softly. Yuki shrugged.

"Changed my mind. Please, just give Roxas to us." She said. Y shook her head, fighting the urge to comply. She wanted Roxas to be free. But he couldn't be allowed that. Sora still needed him.

"I can't do that. It's too late. They can't be separated anymore." Y said sadly.

"Please don't make us do this." Yuki said. It wasn't a request. It was nearing an order. But Y still fought it. She gave a sad smile and shook her head.

"I'm not making you do anything. Just walk away, both of you." Y said.

"No." Yuki said simply.

"No can do." Axel said, agreeing with Yuki. Their conversation was cut short by Roxas throwing his keyblade across the arena.

"What's going on!?" Roxas demanded. The keyblade reappeared in his hand and all he could do was glare.

"They don't go away that easy." Yuki said softly. Roxas looked up as she summoned her own keyblades and stepped back. His blue eyes were wide with shock, not leaving the keys that crossed Yuki's body. The silver swirling rod of Kingdom Keeper and the black rod of Heartless Keeper.

"Number 13. Roxas. The keyblades chosen one." Axel said as he looked at his friend.

"Ok, fine! You asked for it!" Roxas said raising his keyblade. Axel laughed and spun his chakrams.

"That's more like it!" He said. Y shook her head in annoyance, stepping out of Roxas's way.

"I hate having to fight friends." Y stated simply summoning Light's Keeper to her hand. Roxas shot her a confused look, but didn't say a word.

"You get Roxas, I'll take Y." Yuki said.

"Yes ma'am." Axel agreed, smirking at Roxas.

Y was surprised how hard she found it to fight Yuki. The last time they had even attempted to fight it had been a sparring match when they were both rather new to Organization XIV. Their first mission together, the day they became friends. It appeared Yuki had gotten a lot better since then.

The biggest problem Y found she was having was it was an unfair advantage for Yuki to have two keyblades. Y would manage to deflect one and the other would strike her from the other side. If Y hadn't excelled as much as she did in defensive magic it would have been a disaster.

The fight came to a pause as both sides stopped to regroup. Axel laughed once again still spinning his chakrams.

"Not bad Roxas." He said. Yuki smirked glancing over to the spiky-haired blonde in question.

"Glad to see he still remembers something." She said calmly.

Very suddenly, and Y wasn't sure if it was to her dismay or otherwise, DiZ appeared in a swirl of data. Y stepped back and looked to him while both Yuki and Axel glared.

"So it was you." Axel said. He threw one of his chakrams forward, but it bounced harmlessly off of DiZ.

"Roxas, these two speak nonsense!" DiZ said sternly.

"Roxas, don't let him deceive you!" Axel yelled.

"Roxas, please, you have to stay here. They're trying to kill you!" Y pleaded, tugging on Roxas's arm gently.

"Roxas, they're the ones trying to kill you!" Yuki said, desperation filling her voice.

"Roxas!"

"Roxas!"

"Roxas!"

"Roxas!"

The yelling only seemed to agitate Roxas. His fist clenched as he looked up toward the sky.

"Hayner, Pence, Olette!" Roxas said. "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" He repeated.

Y didn't know how, but Roxas's yelling seemed to reset the program. Axel and Yuki were gone and she herself was back in the cheering crowd. A defeated Vivi sat in front of Roxas seeming just as confused as Roxas was.

As Olette, Pence, Hayner rushed onto the arena to congratulate Roxas on the win, Y let out a relieved sigh. She turned her back on the arena and returned to her dwellings. She was going to have to deal with more than one thing.

Y reached the clock tower and smiled as she saw jus what she expected to. Yuki sat alone, kicking her feet back and forth. It was the exact same place she had sat when it had been the five of them.

"I really thought you were going to stay out of it." Y said leaning on the wall. Yuki tilted her head to the side, not even turning to look at Y. Yuki hummed in thought before replying to Y.

"And I thought you were going to try and help him." She said calmly. Despite the calm tone Y detected a bit of accusation. "Did you give up?" Yuki asked. She looked over her shoulder briefly, her blue eyes appraising Y.

"As it turns out my obnoxious brother was right. I don't have enough time." Y admitted in defeat. Y walked over beside Yuki and dropped down next to her leaving enough room for X, who was not going to appear. "What's your story?" Y asked.

"I don't like being alone." Yuki admitted without a thought. Y nodded in understanding. "Axel said if I helped him, I might be able to keep Roxas from going back to the organization." She continued calmly. Y smiled softly and looked down to the ground.

"I'm sorry." Y said.

"Me too." Yuki said. She glanced at Y before looking at the sunset sky. "Have you seen Sora?" Yuki asked suddenly. Y supposed she should have been surprised Yuki knew Y had been close to the boy, but she couldn't bring herself to be. Yuki was clever enough she guessed.

"No. DiZ doesn't trust me that much. I mostly patch the system." Y explained. Yuki nodded.

"Oh." She said softly. There wasn't much else to say.

"I met him when was a little kid though," Y admitted, quickly gaining Yuki's attention. "He was always something else. He wasn't supposed to get the keyblade." She explained. Y wasn't really sure how the small brown-haired boy, who she guessed wasn't so small anymore, had gained the keyblades power. Especially when it seemed Riku hadn't.

"Really?" Yuki asked curiously.

"Nah. Terra passed it on to Riku." Y explained. "Aqua and I decided one keyblade was more than enough for one friendship." She smiled softly at the thought of the blue-haired master. It wasn't a thought she had allowed herself for a while.

"I couldn't agree more." Yuki said softly, looking at her own hand. "That's the first time you've ever really talked about them." She said. Y frowned. Yuki hadn't ever really heard her mention her friends. It had been hard to talk about. Still was really. But moping had never done anyone any good. She had to push forward if she ever wanted to find her friends.

"I guess it is." She admitted. "I think they would have liked you. And I hope you would have liked them."

"They're your friends. Of course I would have." Yuki said quickly. Y smiled at her before standing up and stretching.

"I should head back. There are probably ten more holes to patch already." Y said. She held back a groan of annoyance at the thought.

"Look out for him. And good luck." Yuki said, looking up at Y with a smile. Y returned the smile.

"Yeah, you too." Y said.

The manor was in its usual state when Y arrived and she found herself in her usual place when she entered the computer room to check in with DiZ.

"His progress is astounding." DiZ said. Like always he sat at a computer screen. The hooded man stood off to the side holding a blue orb that looked vaguely familiar to Y.

"So what happened?" The hooded man asked as he placed the blue orb into the orange munny pouch he had taken from Roxas days before. Y was surprised to see he hadn't destroyed it yet.

"Naminé's encounter with Roxas put his heart in contact with Kairi's. And that, in turn, affected Sora. You see?" DiZ explained. The hooded man nodded slowly.

"Naminé? She's a wonder." He said. Y nodded in agreement. The blonde Nobody had proved capable of things Y could never even imagined. It was of great interest of course how she could do those things.

"She wasn't born like other Nobodies. She can interfere with the hearts and memories of Sora and those aligned with him." DiZ said, almost as if he were answering Y's unasked questions. But that was highly unlikely as he greatly preferred leaving Y in the dark.

"But whose Nobody is she?" The hooded man asked.

"I could tell you. But first, perhaps you could tell me your true name?" DiZ asked turning to the hooded man. The hooded man considered it for a moment. He lowered his hood revealing long silver hair, tan skin, and yellow eyes. Y suppressed a shiver at his looks. He looked too much like Xehanort, and too much like Terra.

"It's Ansem." The hooded man said. Y smirked, as she had already debunked this lie. But she'd let him play whatever part he wanted. DiZ laughed.

"It's an honor, Ansem!" He said before turning his chair to look at Y. "And what of you? Who are you really?" He asked. Y rolled her eyes and leaned back for a moment.

"I never lied about my name. But I suppose you mean this," Y said as she pulled off her glove and showed DiZ the Heartless emblem o the back of her left hand. He didn't seem surprised by it. "I'm a rebel with a cause." She said with a smile. DiZ laughed once again.

"And did you come to stop us?" DiZ asked. Y shrugged and slid her glove back on.

"Originally." She admitted. "But now, I get it. Sora's the only one who can stop him. So I say, let's stop him."

* * *

_A/N: Just a place to reply to a few reviews from guests. Thanks, everyone for all the support! Feel free to let me know what you think!_

_Gry22: Hm, I never thought of doing something like that. The prophecy is based on the Book of Prophecies, but maybe I will. We'll have to see how KH3 goes when I get to it!_

_Guest: I love Nevermore! The lyrics are beautiful, and I can see a couple of ways that it fits into X and Ys story. Maybe later I'll manage to fit it to the story._

_Thanks again to everyone who bothers to read this story! It means a lot to me!_


	6. Chapter V

**Chapter V; Used **

Y sat on the steps of the sunset station working on a laptop she had managed to convince DiZ she needed. The devices were rare enough but Y knew of a place or two she could pick them up. She sighed as she closed the laptop and leaned back. She had finally managed to get rid of most of the bugs in the system around here. Not that it mattered, Roxas never came to this part of town.

"Finally fixed that bug." Y muttered to herself twisting her neck in hopes of cracking several bones that felt out of place.

"Oh hey Y."

Y glanced over her shoulder to Pence and Roxas looking down at her. Y frowned for a fraction of a second making note that she had to have a serious discussion with DiZ about sending Roxas to a place he knew was filled with bugs. She replaced her frown with a bright smile. Roxas looked at her with a suspicious frown while Pence returned her smile.

"Hey, you guys. What's going on?" Y asked standing up and holding her laptop behind her back.

"We're working on our summer homework. We're investigating the town's seven wonders." Pence explained sounding excited. He was always into mysteries that made the boring town they lived in more interesting.

"Aren't these the steps you talked about? The ones that count different going up and down?" Roxas asked. He was looking at the steps as if counting them. Y giggled and looked down.

"You didn't actually believe that, did you?" She asked.

"Actually, it's the stupidest thing ever, but..." Pence began looking away nervously.

"What?" Roxas asked. Pence sighed and looked back to Roxas,

"Rai's the one who counted. He's like, 'Every time I count, it's different, y'know?'" Pence immitated Rai's distinctive way of talking and laughed. Y laughed along with him, hoping Roxas would follow along.

"So, he just counted wrong?" Roxas asked slowly. Y nodded.

"Naturally." She said as if it were obvious.

"Hey, do you know any more rumors?" Pence asked. Y frowned and tapped her chin, holding her laptop tightly with the hand that wasn't in use. She supposed she was supposed to lead them on a wild goose chase. But with DiZ's actions, she thought it'd be more fun to actually let them see something strange.

"Actually. I've heard quite a few around here." Y said with a grin. Pence's eyes lit up in excitement at her words. Roxas looked interested but far less excited. "There's the wall where these big balls just get tossed out of nowhere. A strange voice in the underground. The doppelganger. And then there's this bag that moves all on its own." Y listed off. All were bugs that she was pretty sure weren't just bugs. She had spent all day going over each location and found nothing wrong with the coding. She was betting on Nobody interference.

"Wow. Thanks, Y. C'mon Roxas." Pence said before quickly running off. Roxas didn't follow him, only looked at Y with a small frown. Y tilted her head to the side.

"Something wrong?" Y asked.

"You, don't remember yesterday, do you?" Roxas asked. Y frowned. In all truth, she remembered it too well. Axel and Yuki shouldn't have gotten into the system and she hoped they wouldn't again.

"The struggle match? You won, right? I know I was there." Y said feigning ignorance. Roxas frowned and Y found herself regretting lying. But she had to keep it up for just a little longer. It was almost time to end things.

"That's not what I'm talking about." Roxas said softly.

"Then what?" Y asked.

"Those people. And the 'keyblades'." Roxas explained. Y frowned once again. The way he was looking at her, it was like he expected her to just draw her keyblade and attack him. Not that she could blame him. Things must have seemed very strange to him.

"Hm, you know. I still don't know what you're talking about. But where I came from we had a few stories about keyblades." Y said with a soft smile. Roxas looked up hopefully. Y was supposedly from another town, at least that's what the inhabitants thought. But she was rarely given a chance to play to that.

"Really?" Roxas asked. Y laughed a little and nodded.

"Yeah. They were weapons meant to protect the light. But no one has had one for a long time. They're just stories I'm pretty sure but still cool." She said.

"Right," Roxas said sounding slightly deflated. "Are you sure you don't remember those people. Axel and Yuki?" He asked.

"No, not a clue. Sorry." Y said with a soft smile. "You should probably go catch up with Pence." She said. Roxas looked in the direction Pence had run off in.

"Oh, right. See ya I guess." He said before heading down the steps.

"Of course you will. I'm helping you out tomorrow." Y said as she watched him walk away. Y turned to head back to the main part of town but stopped suddenly. She turned and looked back to where Roxas had been but he was gone. Y cursed under her breath.

Yuki had never said her name that day. Roxas had somehow remembered it himself. That was not a good sign. Not a good sign at all.

Yuki sighed as she leaned against the pier on Destiny Islands main island. She didn't intend to stay for very long, but it seemed like the best place to be with all the memories of home returning. She remembered these beaches well. Running up and down them when they weren't allowed to row across to the smaller island. Sitting on the beach and watching the stars.

Yuki glanced over at the sound of sand crunching beneath someone's shoes. She smiled a little bit when she saw the red haired girl she remembered so well. Kairi was wearing the uniform of the school on the island and bag held tight in her hands. She was smiling brightly, which wasn't a surprise in the least bit.

"Haven't seen you in a while." Kairi greeted kindly. Yuki shrugged and looked back out to the water. Kairi stopped beside her looking out over the water as well.

"Been a little busy." Yuki confessed calmly. Kairi nodded and looked at Yuki again. Yuki stood with her arms crossed as she stared out the water with a thoughtful expression. Kairi suspected a lot had happened to her since they had last met, even though it really hadn't been that long.

"I remember you now." Kairi said softly. Yuki smiled for a quick moment before her thoughtful expression returned.

"Yeah, I'm remembering a lot too." Yuki said softly. Kairi wasn't certain, but she was sure that meant she remembered home now.

"Do you want to come home? Mom and Dad remember you now too. Everyone is kinda confused as to how you vanished and they just forgot." Kairi said with a nervous laugh. Yuki turned to face Kairi still keeping her arms crossed and her expression as thoughtful as ever.

"Something tells me magic won't be an acceptable answer to them," Yuki said simply earning a laugh from Kairi. "Probably better I don't head back just yet." She said. Kairi nodded in admittance facing her older sister.

"Right." Kairi agreed sheepishly. Looking up at Yuki she couldn't help but to smile. It really was the same girl who had chased off anyone who dared tease Kairi. The one who had been as excited as Riku when it came to leaving the island. "Do you remember Sora?" Kairi asked suddenly.

"Not yet. That'll come back soon though. They're almost done." Yuki said calmly. Kairi frowned.

"Who's almost done?" Kairi asked.

"The guy who took me. He's protecting Sora right now. His memories got a little messed up." Yuki answered without a pause. Kairi sighed heavily and shook her head with a smile. It was just like Sora to get into some sort of trouble.

"Sounds like quite the story." Kairi said.

"Oh yeah, so I've been told." Yuki agreed. Kairi looked at her in question. Yuki sighed and looked away. "No one's given me the whole story yet." She explained. Kairi frowned and crossed her arms.

"Why not?" She asked, sounding offended for her sister. Yuki held back a grin.

"I'm either a nuisance, or I'm a dangerous enemy. Or a friend that they want to protect a little too much." Yuki said listing off on her fingers. She was pretty sure that was everyone's excuse. The Heartless thought she was a nuisance. DiZ thought she was an enemy. And Axel was being an overprotective friend. X was probably in the same boat as Axel.

"I can understand that last one." Kairi said softly. Yuki glanced up to see Kairi looking off wistfully. Yuki frowned.

"Have you ever been off the islands?" Yuki asked. Kairi nodded and looked back at Yuki.

"Once. Only for a little bit. I only saw Traverse Town. And a little bit of Hollow Bastion." Kairi explained. Yuki frowned. Kairi was the only one of the group who hadn't been given the opportunity to world travel yet.

"Hm, remind me one day I have to take you to Twilight Town." Yuki said. Kairi looked at her in surprise. "That's my favorite world. It's not too different from this one. Just a lot less water." Yuki continued calmly.

"You really mean you'll take me there?" Kairi asked hopefully. Yuki nodded.

"Of course. I know you, you're capable of anything. My little sister isn't a pushover." Yuki said firmly. Kairi smiled brightly.

"Thank you." Kairi said.

"No problem Kai." Yuki said softly.

Y didn't like the old room much more than the computer room. It was dusty and all the furniture but two pieces were destroyed. The reoccurring theme of unicorns was repeated in the room, and Y didn't know why but she really didn't like them.

DiZ was seated in one chair that was suitable enough to still be used. In front of him was a table that had been crushed when a chandelier had fallen on it. The fake Ansem was standing nearby watching DiZ.

"Why did you show him the train?" Ansem asked.

"Because he missed the trip to the beach." DiZ replied as if it was obvious. Y looked over her shoulder with a look of disbelief. There was no chance that was the real reason.

"Hmph, that's almost kind of you." Ansem said, sounding as though he believed DiZ as much as Y did. Y frowned as she turned to face DiZ, leaning against a wall well within his line of sight.

"Or showing him all of the system's bugs as if trying to get him to realize there's something wrong." Y added on to DiZ's supposed kindnesses. DiZ ignored Y, which wasn't much of a surprise. He hardly acknowledged her when she complained.

"Now, what about you? Are the holes in your memory starting to fill in?" DiZ asked Ansem. Ansem nodded.

"Yes, the haze is clearing." He said. DiZ nodded confirming that was to be expected. It was nearly time then. Very nearly time.

"The same is happening to everyone who had ties to Sora. Very soon, to them, he'll be like a good friend who's gone away for a year." DiZ explained calmly. Ansem sat in the chair across from DiZ.

"I've waited, and now I want to know. What is it you want?" Ansem asked. DiZ seemed to consider this question for a moment before glancing to Y. Y assumed he was trying to decide if he wanted her to know the truth. He looked back to Ansem coming to his decision.

"Revenge." DiZ said. Ansem frowned.

"Revenge..." He repeated slowly. DiZ didn't give him time to question the matter anymore.

"Now for the finishing touches. First, we must dispose of Naminé. She did a splendid job with Sora, but it's high time she disappeared. Roxas isn't the only one who was never meant to exist. Take care of it, Ansem." DiZ ordered. Y snorted and rolled her eyes, earning a glare from DiZ.

"Wow, you're racist." Y said.

"I suppose you object." DiZ said almost bored. Y narrowed her eyes at him. She hated that she needed him. If she didn't see such a use for his knowledge she'd turn on him in an instant.

"Yeah. Naminé is nothing like the rest of Xehanort's little posse." Y snapped. DiZ looked at her with shock plain in his eyes. Y was confused as to why she hadn't said anything strange.

"How did you know that name?" DiZ asked. Y frowned when she realized her mistake. DiZ had never mentioned Xehanort to her. He thought he was the only one to know about Xemnas's other.

"Huh? Xehanort?" Y asked, though she knew the answer. DiZ nodded. Y shrugged looking away with a frown. "I have my ways." She said simply.

"You're a very interesting child." DiZ said when it became clear Y wasn't going to elaborate any farther.

"I suppose that's why I'm going to be allowed to live." Y said. It was no question. DiZ still saw use for her, or else he would have turned Ansem on the Heartless he detested.

"You are correct. I see much more use for you." DiZ said. Y frowned and glared at him.

"Last time someone saw use for me, I got turned into a Heartless. I'm not thrilled to hear that." She said. DiZ only tilted his head slightly, watching her with interest.

"But you will stay?" He asked. Y snorted and looked away.

"Fortunately for you, I see use for you." She said simply. DiZ only laughed.


	7. Chapter VI

**Chapter VI; One Ending**

Y was out of breath as she ran through Twilight Town. There was no more time. It was rather sudden, they were supposed to have one more day. But DiZ had decided they didn't need that time. Sora was ready to wake up. All they needed was Roxas.

But it seemed luck wasn't on their side. Axel had broken into the system again. He was closer to Roxas's location, Y was hoping she wouldn't run into a fight. She wasn't sure she'd be able to stop Axel. He had to be desperate by now. As desperate as DiZ was. He'd be willing to do almost anything to get Roxas back. Or destroy him.

As Y reached the usual place she skidded to a stop. Axel was raising his chakram preparing to throw it at Roxas. Y was just about to summon her keyblade and attack when Axel froze in place. She muttered a quick praise under her breath. She had no idea how DiZ managed it, but he had stopped Axel on time.

"Roxas, to the mansion! The time has come!" DiZ's voice rung out through the town. Roxas looked up at the sky with an almost blank expression.

"Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Roxas called out to the sky. Y smiled softly as she walked to where Roxas was and tugged on his arm. He looked toward her quickly, his eyes widening with shock as he saw Y beside him.

"Come on. He's not going to stay frozen long. He's not data, we can't control him." Y said pulling Roxas's arm, trying to get him to move. His feet seemed to move without him having control. He followed Y who carefully wove around Axel into the empty town.

"Y? What's going on?" Roxas asked. Y looked around cautiously and sped up her pace a bit. Roxas stayed close on her tail hoping to hear her answer.

"We don't have time. Just follow me." Y said. She could explain it to him. But that would slow them down and Axel might be able to catch up and Y would rather avoid a fight today.

"No, what's going on!?" Roxas demanded. Y heard his footfalls stop and she sighed heavily. She turned to face him with a look of annoyance. This was hard enough without him making it harder on her.

"Follow me to the manor. It'll become clear there." Y said simply. Roxas looked at her for a moment considering her words. He finally looked away with a frown.

"Fine." He agreed. Y sighed heavily and set off at her brisk pace again. Roxas followed though he was clearly not pleased.

"Do I really know those people? Axel and Yuki?" Roxas asked as they walked. Y laughed to herself. It would be too much to ask that he be quiet the entire way there. It was too much to ask that he didn't ask any hard questions. He did deserve to know, but Y didn't think now was the time to relive old memories.

"Yeah. It was always the five of us. We were all best friends." Y answered softly. Roxas frowned as he thought about her words.

"Just like Naminé said." He said softly to himself. "Who was the fifth?" He asked.

"My brother. He's decided to let this town be. But that's not important." Y answered quickly. They were almost to the forest now. That didn't leave much more time for questions.

"And the keyblade?" Roxas asked.

"There are a lot of them. Each one is different." Y answered. She glanced over her shoulder. They weren't being followed, which was good. But it was only a matter of time.

"And this town? All the weird stuff that's been happening?" Roxas asked. Y looked at him for a brief moment before looking away again. She blinked back the tears that had begun to accumulate in her eyes.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier Roxas. This town is a digital rendering of a real world. It was meant to contain you until the time was right." Y explained, her voice beginning to crack. She swallowed nervously. She didn't want to cry yet. She had cried enough and it never did anything to help.

"Time was right for what?" Roxas asked. Y shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I wish I had more time. I could have stopped it." Y said. Her voice was strained as she tried her best not to cry. They were in the forest now, the mansion in sight.

"Y?" Roxas asked. Y didn't respond as they reached the gates to the mansion. The gates were locked. Behind Roxas and Y there was a sound that signaled the arrival of Dusks. Y turned to face the Dusks while Roxas tried to figure out how to open the gate.

"Don't call me here and then lock me out." Roxas griped. Y rolled her eyes as she summoned her keyblade. Behind her Y heard the sound of the gate unlocking, which she assumed he figured out how to use the keyblade to unlock the door.

Y focused on the Dusks. They seemed to just keep swarming the gates. Y took them out easily as they were hardly a problem. Dusks were the least problematic of the Nobodies.

Y stopped, panting heavily as she looked around. The Dusks had stopped coming. That didn't bode well with her, but it was what it was. The end of this town.

"I guess that means it's done. He's gone." Y said to herself.

Y left the digital Twilight Town to the real one. She had no clear goal as she found herself sitting on top of the clock tower. She watched down below as a short figure in a black cloak talk to Sora and his two companions. Y vaguely recognized them as two she had seen with Yen Sid when she and Aqua had returned Mickey to his master.

Soon Sora was gone on a ghost train that would lead him where he needed to go. Y sighed and stood up stretching. She would have to return to DiZ. He wasn't done yet, and Y was curious to see what he had in store.

"Guess it's up to you now little brother." Y said softly watching the train take Sora on to the next step of his journey.

Yuki sat beside Naminé on a bench on sunset hill. Naminé was looking down at the sketchbook that sat on her lap. Axel was standing not far away leaning against a railing as he watched the train that was taking Sora away from town. There was a hooded man standing watching the three of them. Naminé had identified him as Ansem, but Yuki was pretty sure Ansem was dead according to all records she had seen. Even more, he didn't feel like another Heartless.

"Guess that's that." Axel said with a heavy sigh. Yuki nodded and frowned.

"Let's go." The hooded man said. Axel looked over his shoulder at him.

"Go where? It's not like we have homes to return to. We don't exist, remember?" Axel said in annoyance as he stood upright. He turned to look at Ansem with almost disbelief. The hooded man showed no reaction to the redhead's words.

"Yes, it's true. We may not have homes. But, there is someplace I want to go. And someone I want to see." Naminé said clutching her sketch pad closer to her. The picture was of Sora and Roxas holding hands. Yuki assumed it was some symbology of how they were connected.

"Same here." Axel agreed, looking to Naminé.

"Don't we all?" Yuki asked softly. She glanced up at Ansem, allowing her eyes to turn yellow. There was something off about him she couldn't shake. It was a surprise when she saw his heart. Light and darkness swirled together to look like a dawn sky.

"So, you think you might let us go? I know you're here to get rid of us, but..." Axel said, looking to Ansem.

"DiZ wants to get rid of me?" Naminé said slowly. Yuki narrowed her eyes at the thought of the man. He used Naminé and now decided she could be ridded of now that he didn't need her. It was disgusting to her.

"Go," Ansem said. Axel looked at him warily, not trusting the one who had been his enemy not even minutes before.

"You sure about this?" Axel asked. Ansem looked between the three of them, his eyes stopping on Yuki. She couldn't see his gaze, but she could feel it.

"I owe you all." He said simply.

"For what?" Naminé asked.

"Castle Oblivion. You helped us." Ansem said simply.

"Heh, you don't have to tell me twice." Axel said. He opened a dark corridor and motioned to Naminé to allow her through first. She stood and gave a bow of thanks to Ansem before running through. Axel followed her seconds later, casting a glance toward Yuki who was yet to move.

"You know Riku. You don't owe me anything." Yuki said after a pause. Ansem, or Riku as Yuki knew him to be, stepped back in surprise. Yuki supposed no one had figured out his grand disguise yet. It was rather convincing.

"How did you know?" Riku asked. Yuki smiled as she stood up and looked at the dark corridor Axel had left open for her.

"Yeah, you look different. But your heart, it's still the same." Yuki explained. Riku nodded slowly. Yuki sighed and looked over her shoulder at her friend. "You remember when we were kids, and all we wanted to do was get off that island?" She asked softly. Riku nodded with a small laugh.

"Yeah." He said. That seemed like ages ago before everything had changed. Before Yuki had been taken and their world swallowed by darkness. Before keyblades and Heartless.

"I would give anything to be able to go back now." Yuki said wistfully.

"Why can't you?" Riku asked stepping toward her. Yuki chuckled.

"I'm not human. Anyway, I have another little sister to watch over now. Can't trust Axel with kids." Yuki said with a smile. She laughed a little to herself, thinking of the times they all had spent with Axel. He was always their guide. "He's bad at babysitting." She said. Riku chuckled a little at her words. Despite her being a Heartless, one he knew was dangerous, he couldn't see anything more than the girl he had known since he was a child.

"Good luck Yuki." Riku said. Yuki smiled at him.

"You too Riku. Don't go falling into my domain again, ok?" She warned. She smiled once last time before entering the dark corridor that closed behind her.

* * *

_A/N: Again, just going to reply to a couple reviews down here. Thanks for reading and as always feel free to tell me what you think._

_Guest: I'm afraid not, lol. It would have been too hard to write for a group that large. I already have a hard time keeping X involved while in the Disney Worlds._

_Gry22: That's a really cool idea! I don't think I will use it here in two however, I talk a little about how Yuki's powers work in later chapters. At this point, I was trying not to make her seem too strong as she's still just getting the hang of things. However, depending on how things go that might change. Thanks for your constant support and awesome ideas!_


	8. Chapter VII

**Chapter VII; Another Beginning**

X gave an annoyed huff as he retrieved his dagger from where he had thrown to kill yet another Heartless. He didn't know where the small ones had come from, but they were really the last thing he needed. Yen Sid already didn't trust him and small Heartless out of nowhere made him seem very guilty. He was the one who was supposed to be able to control them.

"Heartless, Heartless, Heartless! Things haven't changed one bit!" Donald complained looking to Sora and Goofy where they stood a floor down from X.

"Well, it's a good thing we're on the job, then," Goofy said trying to keep things light. Sor sighed heavily and let his shoulders drop in disappointment.

"So the worlds aren't at peace after all?" Sora asked. They had worked so hard before falling asleep for however long. Sora had thought they at least wouldn't have Heartless to worry about, even if the king seemed to be insisted something important was going on.

"They were for a little bit." Sora, Donald, and Goofy turned quickly at the sound of the new voice and the sound made when a Heartless was killed. Behind them was a blonde boy with cat-like purple eyes. He wore a black shirt with a white swirling pattern on the side. He had a black short-sleeved jacket over top with purple x's on either shoulder. Two purple belts hung crooked on his hips, one above the jacket and one with black pants and a purple belt around his left thigh.

"Huh? Who are you?" Sora asked. X rolled his eyes looking over the keyblade wielder. He looked like just a kid with his undersized red clothing. But at the same time, he looked all too familiar.

"An ally. Master Yen Sid has been waiting for you guys to show up." X answered calmly spinning his dagger. "The Heartless were a little bit of a surprise, glad to see you handled that." He continued.

"You know Master Yen Sid?" Donald asked. X had to stare at the duck for a moment to be sure he understood what he was saying.

"Well," X said and nervously rubbed the back of his head. "We've met. Come on, I've already cleared out the rest of the tower." He said motioning for the group of three to follow him. X banished his daggers as he led the way to the top floor where Yen Sid was.

Entering the room X moved to the side where a bookcase was and leaned against, watching as the group stood in front of Yen Sid. X crossed his arms as Donald and Goofy bowed.

"Master Yen Sid! It's an honor!" Donald said attempting to sound humble. He was clearly in awe of the wizard in front of him. Not that X knew why. Yen Sid had never shown his power, only sat back and watched.

"Hey there!" Sora greeted cheerfully.

"Sora! Show some respect!" Donald snapped jumping up and pulling Sora into a similar position as the other two. Yen Sid waved his hands in a motion asking them to calm down. Donald reluctantly released Sora.

"So, you are Sora." Yen Sid said looking at Sora with interest. "Now then, have you seen the King yet?" He asked.

"Yes, we did, Master. But we didn't get a chance to talk to him." Goofy answered for the group. Yen Sid nodded. That was to be expected with the recent troubles.

"Yes. The King has been quite busy of late. Therefore, it would seem the task of instructing you three falls upon my shoulders. You have a perilous journey ahead of you. You must be well prepared." Yen Sid said calmly. He briefly looked over to X who was remaining silent.

"You mean, we have to go on another quest? I was looking forward to finding my friend Riku, so we could go back to the islands." Sora said sounding defeated. X imagined it wasn't pleasant to be sent on journey after journey. It would be tedious before long.

"Yes. I know. However, everything in your journey, Sora, is connected. Whether you will find your way home to the islands. Whether you will return alone or with your friend. And whether or not the islands will still be there. And the key that connects them all is you, Sora." Yen Sid explained calmly. Sora looked amazed as if he couldn't believe he was so important.

"I'm, the key?" Sora asked slowly. He raised his arm and called his keyblade to his hand. Compared to all the other keys X had seen it was rather plain. Just an old skeleton key with a gold handle.

"Chosen wielder of the keyblade! You are the key that will open the door to the light." Yen Sid said. X frowned at the thought. He wasn't sure if that had some hidden meaning. If it did, it could mean Kingdom Hearts, a door that was better left closed. Sora nodded with his two companions nodding with him. Yen Sid waved his hand making a book appear in front of the three opened up to a page with some relevance X hoped. "This book contains valuable knowledge you will need for your journey. Study it carefully. Once you have finished, we will speak of the enemies you will surely confront." Yen Sid said. He looked to X. X nodded, it would be his time to really speak up.

Sora read over the book, mouthing the words as he read. He only seemed to get more confused as he read, making X sure the book was as helpful as the Cheshire Cat was to others.

"But wait a sec- how come the Heartless are still running around?" Sora asked looking up as he finished reading.

"Your past endeavor did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness; make no mistake about that. However, the Heartless are darkness made real- and darkness yet lingers in every heart. The Heartless are fewer. But while darkness exists in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them all." Yen Sid explained. X rolled his eyes. Darkness would always exist, so Heartless would always roam the lands. And that was fine, balance was important. Older keyblade wielders used to realize that, but the teaching had been lost.

"Gawrsh, that must mean... if everybody's heart was full of light, then Heartless'd go away!" Goofy said. X chuckled a little bringing attention to him.

"They would, but darkness will always exist," X said simply. It was a surprise when Yen Sid nodded in agreement.

"Now it is time to speak of the enemies that you will encounter." Yen Sid said. With a wave of his hand, an image of Donald appeared not far from where X stood. The image changed from the duck into a shadow Heartless making the three in front of the desk jump back in surprise. "If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless. But you know this. The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts. Never let your guard down. Now then..." Beside the Shadow, the fluid grey figure of a Dusk appeared. "At times, if someone with a strong heart and will-be they evil or good-becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own." The Shadow disappeared to allow more focus on the Dusk. "An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away... A spirit that goes on even as its body fades from existence-for you see, Nobodies do not truly exist at all. Nobodies may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse-they only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived!" Yen Sid warned.

"Nobodies... They don't exist..." Sora said slowly, trying to figure out what had been said.

"Really the smaller ones aren't so great at acting," X said gaining attention from Sora and his friends again. "It's the big ones you have to worry about. They not only act human, but they look it too." Sora's eyes widened in surprise. X looked to Yen Sid who nodded solemnly and made two more Dusks appear beside the other.

"Now then... the being you see before you is known as a Dusk. They are the most common form of Nobody. But there are others-some larger, some with frightening and unique powers. Be vigilant! On your journey, you will meet an alarming number of Dusks. They will all attempt to do you harm." Yen Sid explained. The Dusks vanished, leaving Sora to stare at the empty space. "Still, they are nothing but empty shells, destined to return to the darkness. But-" Three members of Organization XIII appeared. Judging from the black coats it was the three leaders. "The beings you see before you now are different. These powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Organization XIII. It commands the lesser Nobodies."

"Organization XIII..." Sora said. He had a look of recognition, mixed with confusion. X frowned and watched calmly. Sora looked to Donald and Goofy who shook their heads. They didn't remember a thing from Castle Oblivion. Naminé had done her job well.

"The names a bit misleading. There's only seven of them now. They're probably the most worrisome enemy." X put in. Sora and Riku had gotten rid of near half of the members already. Yen Sid nodded, confirming what X had said.

"While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner. They can think and plan. And it seems they are working towards a goal. What that goal is, we do not know. The King sensed the danger, and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the dark realm's keyblade, and with it, closed the door. Now he's traveling from world to world, fighting the Heartless as he seeks the answer to the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII." Yen Sid explained allowing the cloaked figures to vanish.

"Then I guess we better go find the King first!" Sora said brightly, somehow not at all worried about what was to come. X found his optimism both encouraging and extremely stupid at the same time.

"But where could he be?" Donald asked.

"Well, we won't know 'till we look," Goofy said in reply.

"Yeah. And the King must know where Riku is, 'cause the two of them were together in the realm of darkness when we closed the door. You know, after defeating Ansem." Sora continued, keeping his optimism and smiling broadly.

"So before you go, you will need more suitable traveling clothes. Those look a bit too small for you." Yen Sid said, he motioned off to a door on the side of the room. "Through there, you'll find three good fairies. If you ask, they'll create for you appropriate garments." He said.

"Gawrsh, Sora, you sure are growing fast," Goofy said.

"Uh, I guess..." Sora said with a nervous laugh as he pulled on his extremely small red clothes that just looked awkward on him.

The three went into the side room leaving X with Yen Sid alone. Sora was much kinder than X remembered. It seemed Naminé messing with his memories had made him more hostile. Now he just seemed like a goofy child. Like Ventus had been before everything fell apart for that group of friends.

Before X could dwell much on his thoughts the three returned. Sora was now wearing clothes that were mostly black with yellow belts and red bits. It looked much better than his original outfit in X's opinion.

"I'm sure you are eager to be on your way." Yen Sid said to the brown haired boy.

"You bet!" Sora said excitedly.

"Very well. X," Yen Sid said. X stepped away from the wall as Sora turned his attention to him. He mouthed the name X and looked to his companions who looked just as surprised. "You will guide Sora." Yen Sid ordered. X nodded and gave a small bow.

"Yes sir," X said calmly as he rose.

"Huh? Why do we need a guide?" Sora asked in confusion.

"X has great knowledge of both Heartless and Nobodies." Yen Sid explained calmly. Sora looked at X, considering him for a moment before shrugging with yet another grin.

"Hm, well, I don't think we have a choice but to trust him!" He decided happily.

"The journal did say we could trust him," Goofy said.

"Yeah!" Sora said, happy to have another reason to trust X.

"It did?" X asked in confusion. How they had decided they could trust him after their one meeting, which they had no memory of didn't make sense to X. But it worked in his favor, so he wasn't going to question it.

"Yup," Sora said. He turned to Yen Sid one more time. "Actually, I have one more question before we go," Sora said.

"And what might that be?" Yen Sid asked. He had clearly not been expecting any more questions.

"A friend of mine went missing years ago, and I didn't remember her until now. Do you think you know why?" Sora asked. Yen Sid frowned and looked at X with a suspicious glare. X shrugged, he had no idea what was even going on.

"That is strange. Perhaps the answer will be found on your journey." Yen Sid said looking back at Sora. The wizard explained world traveling to the group, but X didn't take much time to listen. He would always be able to follow them with Dark Corridors if he needed to. X had never heard of gummi ships, but he guessed they were probably similar to the keyblade gliders.

After Yen Sid's explanation, the group walked out to the gummi ship. X followed shortly behind his hands in his pockets. He hadn't expected things to go this smoothly, but it was well worth it. Sora unnerved him though. He looked too much like Vanitas. But he behaved so differently. More like Ventus than anyone.

"Me, you guys, Riku, and the King. I don't care who this organization is or what it's planning. With the six of us- I mean, seven of us- there's nothing to worry about, right?" Sora said happily. X frowned at his words. There was only six, he had been right the first time.

"Except your counting skills. You were right the first time. It's only six." X said calmly. Sora looked over his shoulder at X with a frown. He thought for a minute and seemed to realize X was right after he counted on his fingers.

"Huh? Weird. I swore there was one more." Sora said. X frowned and looked down at the ground. There was only one real explanation.

_Sorry, Roxas._


	9. Chapter VIII

**Chapter VIII; Out of the Shadows**

X knew whatever the world they had started in he had been there before. It was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on how. He had seen it somewhere before, perhaps even been there. But the falling apart buildings were of no help in identifying the place.

"It's Hollow Bastion." Sora said in awe. X looked around frowning. Hollow Bastion was the world Maleficent had taken over as her base. That wasn't what the world had originally been called though. It had another name. X felt his stomach lurch when he realized where they were.

"Gawrsh, it looks kinda different now." Goofy said in amazement. X agreed. It looked so different without the flowers all around and the bright colors and happy people.

"I hope Leon and the gang are doing ok." Donald said. X hardly registered what he said. This world was not one of good memories. He had almost ensured Terra's fall into darkness in this world. It was the last place the group had really seen each other before the end.

The group of four wandered through town. X heard the other three talking to someone else, another duck like Donald X guessed, but he didn't listen instead he took in the area. He guessed they were in one of the many squares the town had had. But he couldn't tell which one. Nowhere near the outer gardens. That was for sure, but that was all he could tell.

X jumped back suddenly as a cylinder of light went over his arm. It stung, but he assumed it would have been worse if he had allowed it to complete whatever it was doing. Glancing around he saw the lights targeting not only him but Dusks in the area.

"Hey, what's going on?" Donald asked in annoyance. The lights seemed to be avoiding the three of them.

"Whatever it is I don't like it." X said sidestepping another one of the strange lights.

"That's the town's defense mechanism." A female voice called out. The entire group turned to look on top of a nearby building. The girl standing on top of the roof had short black hair and wore all black.

"Yuffie!" Sora said in greeting. Yuffie, as she was called, waved at them with a bright smile. She suddenly lost her bright smile looking behind them.

"Look out!" Yuffie yelled out. As she did they were surrounded by Dusks. Sora drew his keyblade and quickly began attacking the Nobodies. Donald was slower to pick up the fight, using mostly black magic. Goofy was defense, but he wasn't often paying attention to Sora. X rolled his eyes as he summoned his daggers watching Sora's back. The three of them had a fairly balanced team X was going to have to find his place in the team.

It didn't take long for the Dusks to be rid of. As soon as the area was cleared Yuffie jumped down from where she was. She seemed to be watching X carefully as if she knew something was off about him.

"Hey, you guys!" She greeted happily despite her clear distrust of X. "I see you're still in top form." She said smiling.

"What'd you expect?" Sora asked as he pat his chest. X chuckled at the motion, which made Sora smile even more. "Looks like you're doing ok." He said. Yuffie laughed slightly in response.

"Well, what did you expect?" She turned the question back on Sora.

"How are the others?" Donald asked.

"Great!" Yuffie replied happily.

"Hey, Yuffie! Have you seen the King and Riku?" Sora asked hopefully. X almost rolled his eyes at the question. Sora had too much optimism for his own good.

"Nope." Yuffie answered calmly. She turned away from them walking toward another part of town. "But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again." She said glancing over her shoulder with a grin.

"We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other." Sora said with his hand in front of his face. He was trying to make his voice deeper too, so X guessed he was imitating someone, but he had no clue who.

"Is that supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie asked teasingly. Donald and Goofy laughed so he guessed that was indeed supposed to be whoever Leon was. "Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house. C'mon!" Yuffie called before darting off around a corner.

Around the corner, they caught Yuffie disappearing into a small house that looked like one of the better-maintained houses in the town. Sora led the group into the house with X being the last to enter. Inside a blonde man sat at a computer working with a brown-haired man and a woman with brown hair watching whatever he was doing.

"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" Yuffie said causing the group to turn and look at the new arrivals.

"We missed you!" The brown-haired woman said putting her hands together happily.

"Well, if you ain't in top shape." The blonde man said turning his computer chair around.

"I knew it." The brown-haired man said almost as if trying to prove a point. Sora frowned looking at the man who X noted had a scar across his face.

"Knew what?" Sora asked.

"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time." The man explained. X guessed from the deepness of his voice that was the one Sora had been mimicking.

"You... remembered?" Sora asked. He gasped and jumped forward in shock. "Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us!?" He asked.

"Thanks." Donald said in annoyance. Yuffie chuckled trying to distract attention away from the current conversation.

"So where've you guys been all this time? And who's your new friend?" She asked. She gave X yet another distrustful glance that made him once again suspect she knew he wasn't normal.

"Oh, this is X. He's our guide from Master Yen Sid!" Sora said happily. "X, that's Leon, Aerith, and Cid." He introduced pointing at each in turn.

"Pleasure is all mine." X said smoothly. "As for your first question, they were sleeping." He answered looking at the three who had just woken up.

"Where? In cold storage?" Cid asked. X considered his question. He had no idea if the place Naminé had kept them in was cold, but he was inclined to agree. X shrugged as the other three looked at each other nervously and laughed.

"It doesn't matter. This is great. Everyone's together again!" Aerith said, breaking the awkward silence that had filled the room.

"So, um...we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen 'em?" Sora asked the three he hadn't met earlier. All three shook their heads, which was expected. "Right." Sora said as if he had expected it.

"Sorry. But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Ok?" Aerith said kindly. X didn't expect Sora to come up with anything else. But surprisingly he did have yet another question.

"Actually, I'm looking for someone else too. She's a girl who'd be a little older than me. She has black hair and blue eyes. Her name's Yuki." Sora explained. X looked up at Sora in shock. Was he remembering some of Roxas' memories too? Yuki had never mentioned knowing Sora. The restoration committee looked at each other, almost thoughtful. Sora grew hopeful from their expressions.

"We might know who you're talking about. We'll let you know what we find out." Leon said calmly looking at Sora with interest.

"Ok, thanks!" Sora said happily. X looked at the restoration committee nervously. If they knew Yuki, knew what she was, it would explain why they were looking at him so nervously. They knew the signs.

"Don't go thankin' us just yet." Cid said quickly.

"Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem." Leon said, easily picking up where Cid had left off.

"You mean, like Nobodies? And Heartless?" Sora asked.

"That's right!" Yuffie confirmed quickly.

"Sounds like you could use our help." Sora said standing proudly. Leon smirked at Sora's action.

"Then let's cut to the chase. Sora, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the three of you might give us a hand around here. And your new friend, if he's able." Leon said casting a glance to X. X rolled his eyes with a smirk and nodded.

"Like we're gonna say no?" Sora said.

"I forgot who I'm dealing with." Leon muttered in minor annoyance.

"Hey...what do you mean by that?" Donald snapped quickly. Aerith laughed

"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment.'" She said with a smile. X frowned.

"If that's a compliment, what's an insult?" He asked worriedly. Leon opened the door to the house and went to leave. He glanced over his shoulder.

"Follow me to the Bailey- There's something you need to see." He said before leaving. Before Sora and the others could follow a wizard wearing blue with a long white beard arrived in front of the door. X squinted at him suspiciously but judging from the others reactions it wasn't uncommon for him to randomly appear in rooms.

"Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time!" The wizard said catching Sora's attention.

"It's Merlin!" Donald said excitedly. X supposed he liked others who excelled in magic like him.

"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!" Yuffie said happily.

"Splendid! We'll count on you!" Merlin said happily. Sora, Donald, and Goofy straightened up and saluted at Merlin.

"Right!" The three said together. X smirked and rolled his eyes lightly.

"Ah, yes. Did you give them the cards, dear?" Merlin asked turning to Aerith.

"Oh!" Aerith said reaching into a pocket hidden in her dress. She pulled out four cards saying something about lucky they had a spare under her breath. "Here...they're presents for you. Leon thought you might like to have them." She explained as the group took the cards. X glanced over the card. He didn't see the point in the cards.

"Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!" Sora read excitedly.

"Membership cards!" Donald said happily.

"Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy asked. Sora and Donald nodded in agreement. X shrugged and pocketed the card.

"Hey, thanks, Leahhh...huh?" Sora said turning to face where Leon had been. He stopped dead seeing that Leon was long gone. "Oh no! We're supposed to be at the bailey!" Sora cried out.

Sora Donald and Goofy all took off running. X sighed watching them leave. He turned back to the group still there.

"It was nice meeting you all." X said with a wave.

"You're a Heartless, ain't ya?" Cid said suddenly. X frowned looking at the group. He nodded slowly.

"Does Sora know?" Yuffie asked. X shook his head slowly. He guessed they really must have known Yuki somehow. And they knew what she was too. X was regretting Yuki's lack of honesty in reports. She had never even mentioned being seen i. This world.

"Yen Sid knows, and chose to trust me. I think that is all I need to say in my defense. I hold no intentions of hurting Sora, and if you really know Yuki, then you know not all of us are terrible monsters." X said calmly. The three remaining didn't say anything in response. X took the opportunity to go after Sora and the other two.

The bailey wasn't very hard to find. Leon stood near the rampart looking towards the castle that had once belonged to the fairy Maleficent. It had been a long time since X had come in contact with her. And he didn't mind one bit. He didn't want to see her ever again. The canyon around the castle was dark and moves almost like a sea. X didn't pay it much attention at first.

"Look at that." Leon said, nodding towards the castle. X frowned looking out over the area. Sora gasped leaning against the rampart, his eyes widening in realization.

"That many Heartless." X said softly. The black mass that X had just mistaken for natural shadows of the area was actually Heartless, thousands of them.

"We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be. Who knows-maybe even better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything- Except, for that." Leon explained pointing to the mass of Heartless, then to two Dusks lazily strolling up the canyon. "And that."

"We'll handle 'em!" Sora said quickly, standing up straight once again.

"Well, that's good to hear. So Sora- do you know what's going on, then?" Leon asked, leaning back against the rampart with crossed arms.

"There's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless. But he's not smart enough to tie his own shoes. The ones we need to worry about are the Nobodies." Sora explained, remembering what Yen Sid had told him, and the things he had seen.

"And the Organization XIII guys in charge, too!" Goofy added. Sora nodded in agreement.

"You called?" A smooth deep voice said. X tensed up and looked around. The voice didn't really sound like either of them, but he still knew who it was all too easily.

Sora took off running and without a thought X ran after him. He didn't want to risk losing Sora to the same fate he had left Terra.

"You're doing well." Another voice said calmly. X frowned as Sora summoned his keyblade. That was Sïax. The second and first in command together. It wasn't a good sign.

"Who's that!?" Sora demanded looking around for the source of the voices. The two still remained hidden and X didn't know if he was grateful or worried.

"This calls for a celebration." Xemnas' voice said calmly. X knew he should be worried at the sound of that.

Suddenly a group of Dusks appeared and a barred door separated Donald and Goofy from Leon, X, and Sora.

X didn't waste time attacking the Dusks. He wore the Nobodies before pushing them towards Sora to finish off. Leon was proving himself to be a force to be reckoned with by taking out many of the Dusks all on his own.

X looked around as the Dusks were defeated. They wouldn't stay hidden for very long.

"The keyblade...a truly marvelous weapon. Were it only in more, capable hands." Xemnas' voice sounded out. A group laughed making X freeze. That was more than two people.

"Show yourselves!" Sora demanded. Above them, a group of six appeared looking down. All had their hoods up, concealing their faces.

"Only six." X muttered looking at the group. He bit his lip nervously as he realized who was missing. "Axel, what did you do?" He whispered breathlessly.

"Organization XIII!" Goofy said loudly, covering most of X's muttering.

"Good! Now we can settle this!" Sora yelled.

"What a shame. And here I thought we could be friends." Xemnas said. X couldn't hear any sign of sarcasm in his voice, but he assumed his voice was full of it. The group laughed and disappeared using dark corridors that seemed to swallow them up.

"Stop!" Donald yelled running toward the stairs that led to where the Organization had been standing but no longer was.

"You guys have no hope of taking them all at once right now. Let them go." X called after the duck. Donald was going to ignore him but stopped when one of the Organization members appeared in front of the stairs.

"What's the big idea!?" Donald asked falling back away from the member.

"Oopsy-daisy!" Said the man with a laugh. X had to hold back a groan. Xigbar.

"Move!" Sora demanded.

"Now, do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?" Xigbar said sarcastically. X assumed he was just trying to buy time for something. But X didn't know what it was he was buying time for.

"I said get outta the way!" Sora repeated. Xigbar leaned forward with his hands on his hips.

"As if! You can talk all you want but that won't change a thing." Xigbar said in challenge. Sora glared at the Nobody who was really just being an annoyance at this point. The others were long gone, unless they were causing damage somewhere else.

"Then we're gonna MAKE you move!" Sora said angrily. He looked ready to attack the Nobody if he didn't move. X had a feeling he would have to step in before long.

"See, that would work- if I were just any old dude. 'Cept I'm not. I'm with the Organization. Nothing 'any old' about me. Little traitor, there is right." Xigbar said, motioning toward X who was still beside Sora. Luckily Sora didn't seem to register what Xigbar had said at all.

"Ha! Tough talk for someone who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkeys did the fighting!" Sora said.

"Oh, dear. I think you got the wrong impression." Xigbar said waving his finger back and forth like he was scolding a child. X did not appreciate the gesture but once again Sora seemed oblivious.

"You gonna cry?" Sora asked in a taunting manner.

"As if! Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?" Xigbar asked.

"Remind me?" Sora asked with a glare. He seemed to be realizing how strange the things Xigbar was saying were strange and somehow meant to target him. But he didn't seem to understand any of them.

"That's RIGHT, he used to give me that exact look." Xigbar said. They couldn't see his face, but X heard the smirk in his voice.

"I guess you think you can psych me out by saying really random stuff!" Sora said. Trying to ignore what Xigbar was saying was proving more difficult than he thought. He was now casting a nervous glance in X's direction.

"Gee...I just don't know." Xigbar said. He spread his arms out as if challenging them to strike him. No one moved to take the challenge, which seemed to be just what Xigbar expected. He lowered his arms after a moment. "Be a good boy now!" He said.

"Wait!" Donald yelled jumping at Xigbar. But he was already gone before Donald made contact. "Nuts! He got away!" The duck complained.

"That was weird. WHO gave him the same look? And what did he mean by calling you a traitor?" Sora asked turning to look at X. X looked away with a frown. He never liked talk of a traitor, a thought in the back of his head said it was nothing but trouble when it was brought up. X found himself shrugging.

"He's not wrong." X said calmly. "That's all I've ever really managed to do. I've betrayed my Master, my family, my friends. Just always how it ends for me." He explained, knowing Sora was looking at him with worry. But it was true. He betrayed Xehanort by fighting here with Sora. He betrayed Y more times than he could count, working with Xehanort, sending her from home, leaving her on her own to try to save both Roxas and Sora, and lying to her on a regular basis. His friends, Yuki, Roxas, and Axel, working with Sora was yet again his means of betrayal.

"And what about me?" Sora asked. X looked up at him calmly, assessing the brown haired boy.

"That remains to be seen. My best advice, don't turn your back." X said calmly. It was hard to be a backstabber if the victims back wasn't turned. Sora nodded slowly, a silence fell over the group.

"Y'know, I think he was just trying to confuse ya." Goofy said breaking the silence. Sora turned to the humanoid dog with a bright smile, pushing the matter of X out of his head.

"Yeah, you're right. Only one me!" Sora said proudly. He took out the membership card and held it up to read. "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member-" The card suddenly began to glow and floated up into the air. Sora's keyblade too began to glow. "Huh?"

"What's this?" Leon asked. X glanced at him in surprise. He had forgotten the brown haired man was still there.

"Gawrsh, ya think...?" Goofy asked. Sora made a motion with his keyblade that was now pointed in the air. X assumed that was him locking something, or maybe unlocking something.

"Oh. Now I get it. That must've been the gate Yen Sid talked about." Sora said. X frowned, that must have been the part X tuned out.

"Oh boy!" Donald said excitedly.

"Sorry to run, Leon, but other worlds are calling." Sora said turning to face Leon. Leon nodded.

"Organization XIII... They look tough. Be careful out there." He warned. His eyes darted to X for a brief second, which was no surprise to X. He knew he wasn't trusted.

"See ya soon." Sora said. Leon saluted them as the group of four left the world.

* * *

Gry22: You really have some great ideas! Though I can't say for sure how KH3 is going to go, planning is still very basic at this point, I can promise X and Vanitas will have some sort of exchange at Vanitas's death. I will definitely be keeping your idea in mind when I get to that part in planning. Thanks for all your support!


	10. Chapter IX

**Chapter IX; Proving Worth**

The world was strange, to say the least. X had seen many different landscapes in all his years traveling worlds. But very few had a forest quite like this one. In fact, X couldn't think of one that did. There were no trees, only bamboo shoots that took over the area. It wasn't something X was used to, but it wasn't unpleasant.

X only stopped walking when he nearly ran into Sora. The brown-haired boy had stopped suddenly looking ahead at a strange scene. A woman dressed in battle armor was talking to a shadow cast on a nearby rock. The shadow looked like some kind of lizard, but X couldn't be sure as to what it exactly was.

"A Heartless." Donald said. X frowned looking at the shadow. It wasn't a Heartless. Though he could understand why they guessed that. Before X could argue Sora spoke up.

"Let's get the jump on 'im!" Sora said with a grin. Donald nodded and the two of them rushed forward.

"Gawrsh, maybe better look before we leap." Goofy said, trying to reign back his two friends. X glanced at the humanoid dog thoughtfully.

"You're the smartest one in this group, aren't you?" X asked. It was no surprise he got no answer as Goofy made his way to follow Sora and Donald. X sighed heavily and followed after them. There was nothing to be gained from just watching.

The woman gasped suddenly when she noticed the group. What was creating the shadow jumped out from behind a smaller rock in fright jumping into the arms of the woman. It was a small red lizard of sorts. Or, maybe a dragon? X wasn't sure.

"Is that Mushu?" Goofy asked looking at the lizard hiding in the woman's arms. X frowned trying to get a better look at the creature that might have been Mushu. He didn't know what would identify him, but X was willing to try.

"That's right, I know you heard of me!" The lizard cried out popping up from his hiding place in the woman's arms. "I'm little, lethal, and legendary! Now ya'll scram before I get my dragon dander up!"

"Hey, Mushu! We missed you!" Sora greeted with his usual bright smile. X glanced at Mushu and the woman. He had no idea how they had encountered him, he really needed to learn a thing or two about their journey before Castle Oblivion.

"Yeah, well you better hope I miss you, or else you're-you're..." Mushu trailed off in the middle of his rant as he finally looked at who was greeting him. His face brightened as he identified the group of three. "Sora! Donald! Goofy!"

"Do you know them?" The woman asked looking at Mushu. He nodded as he dropped to the ground walking up to Sora.

"Know them? Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together! Yeah, you know, I helped these guys out of a lot of tight spots. 'Cause I'm a mighty dragon! Right?" Mushu asked leaning up against Sora's leg. X took note that Mushu was in fact a dragon, not a lizard. He was sure that was a sensitive topic so X would avoid a mix up.

The woman looked at Sora in disbelief. She didn't seem to want to believe Mushu had really done that much to help. Sora crossed his arms behind his head like Ventus used to and stepped back, leaving Mushu to fall over.

"Something like that." Sora said. He turned his attention away from Mushu and onto the woman. "And...you are?" Sora asked.

"I'm Mulan." The woman responded without a thought. She lowered her voice trying to sound more masculine, or something of the sort. "Um, no, I-I mean..." She backtracked to try and cover what was apparently a mistake.

"Ping!" Mushu chimed in helpfully.

"Mulan Ping?" Donald asked. The woman shook her head.

"Just Ping. I am Ping, son of Fa Zhou." She said, keeping her deep voice. X frowned, it didn't seem like a normal thing for her to do. So what was the point of it?

"You know Mushu?" Sora asked, not even acknowledging the strange event that had just taken place. Was Sora so accepting he didn't see the point in questioning what had gone on? If so, X was impressed by Sora in a way he couldn't express. It was so rare to find someone who could truly accept anyone.

"Mushu's one of my family's guardians." Ping, or Mulan, whichever was actually correct, said calmly. The three of the original group all looked at each other in shock. X crossed his arms looking at the little dragon in disbelief. Something that small was probably only protection against insects of some kind.

"We didn't know we were borrowin' somebody as important as a family guardian." Goofy said for the group. Mushu jumped up on Ping's shoulder showing all his teeth in a grin that did not bode well with X. They were about to get dragged into something that was not their intended goal.

"Yeah, that's right! And that puts you three up to your eyeballs in debt to Ping here." Mushu said patting Pings shoulder. Ping smiled a little awkwardly, clearly not happy all this attention was on her. "Well, guess what, kiddies? It's payback time!" Mushu said ignoring Ping's awkwardness.

"Mushu..." Ping hissed in warning.

"Ah, they don't mind. Ain't that right?" Mushu asked turning to the group.

"Hmm, sounds fair." Sora said crossing his arms with a nod.

"What are we agreeing to help with?" X asked. He narrowed his eyes at the dragon waiting for a reply.

"See, Ping here was just on his way to join the Imperial army." Mushu said. X frowned, did the dragon not realize Ping was a girl, or was there some reason he was using the incorrect pronouns? Mushu switched the shoulder he was perched on before continuing his explanation. "We gotta go find the other recruits over at the training camp."

"Would you join us? It'll be easier to fit in if I'm with guys, like you." Ping asked.

"What do you mean, 'fit in'?" Sora asked in confusion.

"Well, um, uh, don't- don't worry about that." Mushu said, trying to brush off the concern that had quickly filled the group.

"You're pretending to be a boy aren't you?" Goofy asked. Sora and Donald jumped in surprise turning to look at Ping in shock. X guessed that would explain why Mushu was using different pronouns.

"You're a...girl?" Sora asked in shock. X blinked glancing at Sora. He didn't think Sora was that dense. Accepting m yes. Dense, well, that was an accomplishment all on its own if that was the case.

"You couldn't tell?" X asked slowly.

"You didn't notice?" Ping asked hopefully.

"Uh-uh." Donald said shaking his head in shock.

"Not me." Sora said, his eyes wide as he stared at Ping. X gave a heavy sigh and rubbed his temple slowly. It was going to be harder to watch over this kid than he thought.

"I think it's working," Ping said turning to Mushu excitedly. Mushu didn't look nearly as excited, as he looked off to the side dismissively.

"I don't know-those two would fall for anything." Mushu said.

"I'm inclined to believe you're not wrong." X said calmly. He received a glare from Donald, who seemed to be the only one who didn't trust X. Goofy had said something about a journal stating he could be trusted, but X hadn't seen anything about that. He also had no idea why it would say something like that.

"I'm right here!" Sora objected, his hands going to his hips as he frowned at X and the small dragon.

"Hey!" Donald shouted, joining Sora in his disapproval. X chuckled softly holding his hands up. Sora smiled at the reaction, quickly forgetting what had happened only seconds before. Donald, on the other hand, continued to glare at X suspiciously as the group made arrangements to head into the military encampment.

The group made their way to the encampment with no hurry. X hung toward the back with Ping. If things looked bad he wanted to be able to pull back and get out of there as quickly as he could. Someone would have to be able to save the others if necessary. Though Sora seemed to be the type who could make friends with anyone so there wasn't much worry of that.

"Remember, girl-manly!" Mushu reminded Ping before disappearing somewhere in her armor. Ping stood up straighter her shoulders going too far back and her steps turning into an awkward kind of strut. X watched a moment before laughing softly and nudging her gently. Ping turned to look at him curiously.

"Relax a little. Try mimicking Sora instead." X suggested, nodding toward the brown-haired boy in question. Ping nodded slowly and glanced at Sora. Her posture slowly changed as she began to walk more naturally. X smiled at her softly. "The first step to getting away with anything you're not supposed to do is to act like you're supposed to be doing it. Walk as if you don't care who owns the world, no one will question you then." He explained calmly. Ping looked at X with interest. X smiled briefly before looking away. He felt Ping's eyes remain on him, but he didn't react. X supposed he had too much experience getting away with things.

In the encampment, the soldiers were lining up to get what looked like someone kind of food. X wasn't sure he wanted to actually see what they were claiming the food was. As a Heartless, X didn't have to eat to survive. But he had gotten into the habit while with his friends. Even if it was just sea salt ice cream. It was something he had gone years without and was surprised when he realized how much he missed the comfort. The thought of eating now, after everything that had happened was not a pleasant one. X felt his stomach knot up within seconds.

X was pulled from his thoughts when he saw a short man shove Sora to the side.

"'Bout time we get some grub." He complained.

"Hey, no cutting!" Sora objected loudly, glaring at the older man.

"Get out!" Donald yelled in agreement. X found it strange that no one in the camp thought to question the talking duck. But then, no one had ever questioned the giant walking talking mouse either.

Very quickly the line dissolved into a fight. X couldn't exactly tell what started it, or where some of these people had come from. But it had become chaos quickly. Ping stood beside X along with a very large man who seemed just as confused. All attempts Ping had made to stop the fight were quickly dismissed by the short one who may have started the fight. Sora was of no help in the fight either, he and Donald being just as involved as some of the others. X sighed heavily glancing up to see who looked like the captain. X gave another heavy sigh.

"Enough!" X yelled, using the voice that was usually reserved for particularly stubborn Heartless that didn't want to listen to him. The entire line turned to X freezing where they were. X nodded in the direction of the captain calmly. "Captain." X said.

"The Captain." A tall skinny man echoed. The line quickly righted itself, all men facing the captain with straight and stiff posture. X stood calmly in comparison to the rest. He almost lazily watched the captain pace in front of the soldiers.

Before the captain got the opportunity to speak a group of Heartless appeared behind him. Sora quickly drew his keyblade as gasps filled the air. X sighed, bringing his own daggers into his hands.

"What are they?" Ping asked stepping back in fear.

"Heartless!" Sora answered.

"As usual." X added calmly spinning his daggers.

"Oh yeah?" The tall skinny man said. He and the two others X had noted before, the fat one and the very short angry one, readied their fists as if meaning to help. X supposed they would be more of a nuisance than a help.

"Ping I hope you're ready." Sora said before charging at the Heartless. X followed him without a delay.

The fight was a quick one as it seemed the Heartless weren't of the particularly dangerous variety. X did his best to watch where all the soldiers were during the fight. He didn't want to lose any of them to the darkness at the moment. Ping seemed to be falling especially far behind. X couldn't tell if it was her first time in combat, or if the armor was weighing her down too much. Whatever it was, there were several near misses with her.

After the Heartless were gone the group relined up, several were panting heavily with cuts and bruises. X would have to go around with some potions and healing spells later. He didn't want the soldiers to be too negatively affected because of the Heartless. That could alter the course of the world and that wouldn't be pretty. The world would probably fall.

"You four. What are your names?" The captain asked looking at the world traveling group.

"Sora."

"Donald."

"Goofy."

"X."

"You're welcome in my troops. Your battle skills are encouraging." The captain said looking over them once again. Ping stepped forward confidently, a good first step.

"I am the son of Fa Zhou-" She began the captain cut her off with a glare.

"You should return home." He said. Ping faltered for a moment before stepping forward again.

"B-but... That would dishonor my family!" Ping said in disbelief.

"You'd rather dishonor my troops?" The captain shot back. Ping clenched her fist and stepped forward in a threatening manner. In any other situation, it would have been a good way of acting like a man. However, this was not the situation to behave in such a way.

"Don't make me-!" She started, but stopped when she saw X shaking his head. She stepped back, her head looking to the ground.

"If Ping trains hard and does his best, he'll get stronger in no time." Sora said smoothly placing a hand on Ping's shoulder. The captain frowned at Sora looking at Ping unconvinced. "Just give us an assignment! We'll show you how well we can work together." Sora continued.

"So.. you want to be tested? Our orders are to ambush Shan-Yu's army on their way here. They should be coming through the mountain pass." The captain said, crossing his arms. He looked down at the group warily.

"We'll smash them!" Donald yelled. X sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I doubt that. You five will be the advance party. Scout out the mountain for my troops." The captain said.

"That's it?" Sora asked. "No problem. Right?" He turned to Ping who looked nervous. Apparently, it was going to be a problem.

"R-right." Ping agreed despite her nervousness.

The tests assigned by the captain all turned out to be along the same lines. Every test involved a fight against Heartless. Each one was completed quickly, mostly because of Sora. Ping did her best to keep up but it seemed she was still having trouble. She slowly got better going from taking out no Heartless to managing to take out a few. X did his best to teach her what he could, but he had no real experience with sword fighting. He had always gone for his daggers.

After completing the last mission assigned the group returned to the main camp. X wandered away from the rest of the group letting them have their conversation about something that couldn't be all that important. He knew he should probably stick close to Sora, the kid would probably manage to get himself in trouble if X wasn't nearby. But it was hard to stay near him. He looked far too much like Vanitas. And acted far too much like Ventus. It was reminders of all of X's mistakes right in front of him.

X froze hearing a loud scream filling the air. He turned around quickly bringing his daggers into his hands. The camp was filled with Heartless of all kinds mixed with what seemed like a group of Hun soldiers. X looked around, no sign of Sora and the others.

"You have got to be joking right now." X muttered before joining the soldiers in the fray. He wove in and out of multiple fights, running his dagger across the enemy as he shot through the crowd. "Come on Sora, where are you. I swear to Kingdom Hearts if you get killed already I'm going to drag you back and kill you again before Yen Sid can kill me." He continued muttering taking out another Heartless as he passed by.

Very soon it became clear to X that Sora was nowhere in sight. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad. They were clearly losing based on shear numbers alone. Sora might have been a huge help in taking out the Heartless, but he would be in too much danger here. Not all the enemies were Heartless, and the village they were in was burning now.

X jumped up onto the wall surrounding the village. Looking around he saw a mass of Heartless, many of which had closed in around the soldiers. It was fortunate, most of the soldiers looked to be out cold too. Or at least somewhat delusional. They wouldn't remember what happened when it was over.

"Leave this village now!" X shouted from where he stood. His eyes flashed yellow as all the Heartless stopped and looked up at him. X glared at the Heartless, his gaze slowly sweeping across the encampment. "Don't make me repeat myself." He hissed. The Heartless all disappeared in the vortexes that always accompanied them. X found his eyes meeting with the cold eyes that belonged to the Hun leader. Shan-Yu snarled before turning and walking away.

X jumped down from the wall landing in the snow. He began to search the camp, healing soldiers as he went past. He was never as good as Y was at this sort of magic, but he could usually manage something helpful. At least they wouldn't die right then and there.

"Captain!" X turned at the sound of Ping's voice. He let out a relieved breath seeing Sora with Ping and the others looking relatively unharmed. X quickly joined them looking over the captain in concern as he tried to stand up, leaning heavily on the wall beside him.

"Don't overdo it, Captain!" Sora said.

"It's just a scratch." The captain replied, his hands clutching over the injury that was clearly still heavily bleeding. X frowned.

"I don't think you know what a scratch is." X said as the captain lost his footing and slid down the wall slightly.

"Captain, the enemy! Where did they go?" Ping asked.

"They went toward the summit..." The captain replied. His eyes briefly flashed to X. X tensed slightly catching what the glance meant. It hadn't escaped his notice what X had done.

"We'll stop them!" Ping stated standing quickly. She faced the summit with a determined look. X smirked. It was good to see Ping growing into the role of a soldier. It fit her surprisingly well.

"It's kinda our fault." Goofy said as the group made their way toward the summit. X frowned glancing around at the group. Where had they gone off to anyway? And why had they felt it necessary to leave X behind?

"Right." Ping agreed.

"You mean MY fault." Mushu said, walking on the snow in front of them.

"Uh-uh!" Donald said.

"Shan-Yu and the Heartless did this, not us!" Sora insisted as they drew even closer to the summit.

Reaching the summit they found it completely abandoned. The snow was undisturbed, which was more concerning to X than anything else. If they had passed through there had to have been a sign. Unless they were flying Heartless, which were always a pain to fight.

Shan-Yu appeared at the top of the summit looking down at them, before X could finish his assessments. X held back a groan. He was not a fan of uphill battles unless he was the one uphill. It was too much energy to waste on these types of things. At least it was only one, the Heartless were still cleared out.

Shan-Yu raised the hand he held his sword in. From behind him a large group of yellow Heartless X knew to be called rapid thruster. He was yet to figure out who came up for the names of the Heartless. He suspected it was someone long, long ago. So long ago it seemed even some of the older Heartless didn't know. They at least had never given him an answer as to where they had found the names and who had decided them in the first place.

With a simple hand motion, the Heartless attacked the small force at the foot of the summit. The numbers were the only threat with the Heartless. They were easily killed with one or two hits, but with what seemed like thousands upon thousands of Heartless the group was quickly separated. X found himself surrounded in minutes. Sora was lost somewhere to his left and he thought Ping was somewhere behind him. Donald and Goofy were...somewhere, maybe.

X didn't regain any knowledge of the others whereabouts until he heard a rumbling echoing down the mountain slope. He froze turning quickly to the top of the mountain. Seeing a wave of snow cascading down the mountain he cursed looking for some way to get out of the way. He ran to the far side of the summit and grabbed hold of a few rocks, pulling himself onto them and out of the snow.

X stayed where he was until the snow finished settling on the mountain. All the Heartless had disappeared under the snow. Shan-Yu was also nowhere to be seen buried under the snow. X dropped down, first finding Sora, Donald, and Goofy. X walked on top of the fresh snow layer joining the trio as they approached the Captain and Ping.

"Ping! Captain!" Sora called out.

"Oh boy, you're okay!" Goofy said. The captain turned on all of them with a harsh glare.

"You all knew, didn't you? You knew Ping was really a woman in disguise." The captain demanded looking among the group. He stopped with his gaze on X, which was expected as he seemed to be the only one who wasn't sunken down into the snow.

"A woman?" X asked sarcastically turning to Ping. "You lied to me? And what are you, a sheep?" He turned to Donald with an accusing glare. Donald returned the glare and several others joined. Sora held back a laugh glancing between X and Donald. X smirked before shrugging and looking back to the captain.

"I can't believe you lied to me." The captain said turning his back on the group. "The punishment for high treason and dishonoring the Army...is death. Get out of my sight...now. You're all dismissed." He said not turning to face them.

"But Captain..." Sora began, he stepped forward slightly.

"My debt is repaid." The captain said simply as he walked to the edge of the ridge. "The emperor is waiting! Move out!" He yelled to the remaining troops who followed. Soon the only ones remaining were Sora's group and Ping. Mushu hopped onto Pings shoulder, his head hanging in dejection.

"Mulan... I blew it." Mushu said sadly. Ping sighed and took off the armor leaving a simple outfit on underneath.

"Thank you, everyone. Sorry I got you in trouble." She said turning to the group. X waved off her concern.

"This is hardly trouble compared to the other situations I've gotten myself into." He said calmly. He got a few strange looks from parts of the group, but he ignored them like he often did.

"It's no big deal." Sora said calmly. "So Ping... I mean, uh, Mulan... what're you gonna do now?" He asked.

"Go back home," Mulan answered calmly, X supposed the fake name wasn't necessary anymore.

"You know, your daddy's gonna be steamed as a chicken dumpling." Mushu pointed out from where he sat on her shoulder. Mulan frowned looking down at the snow.

"Relax, we'll take our share of the blame." Sora offered. Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement.

"Thanks. You're all wonderful friends." Mulan said. X frowned looking away over the side of the ridge. His eyes widened as he realized he was watching Shan-Yu dig his way up out of the snow. He let out a loud cry when he was above the snow, the screaming bringing up several Heartless.

"Shan-Yu!" Mulan exclaimed.

"He's alive!" Sora said in shock.

"He's heading for the Imperial City! We have to warn Shang!" Mulan said firmly. It took X a moment to realize Shang was the captain. He had no idea how or when Mulan learned his name but he wasn't going to question it. He only nodded before the race to the city began. It was unlikely they could make it to the city before Shan-Yu, he had a head start. But they were trying their hardest anyway. It seemed they managed to catch up with Shang's unit in no time flat.

"Shang!" Mulan yelled. Surprisingly he actually stopped for her. "Shan-Yu is alive! He's headed this way!" Mulan said gasping for breath.

"And why should I believe you this time?" Shang asked. X rolled his eyes.

"Because the fate of the city depends on it. But your call." X said earning a glare from Shang. X only shrugged glancing around. His eyes landed on a rooftop where it looked like someone was sitting. X sighed heavily as everyone slowly turned their attention that way, following a hawk that was flying through the air. It became clear to everyone that the person was Shan-Yu and Mulan was not lying.

"Guard the palace! Do not let the enemy get anywhere near the emperor! That's an order!" Shang yelled turning to his men. Three ran forward as ordered. The rest, however, stood where they were. Each soldier turned into a Heartless making X grown in annoyance. Sora and Mulan jumped in front of the captain weapons at the ready.

"Captain! We'll secure the courtyard, and you can save the emperor!" Sora said watching the Heartless before making his move. Shang looked over his shoulder at the palace before looking back to the Heartless.

"That's an order!" Donald added jumping up. X rolled his eyes spinning his daggers in hand.

"I don't think you're in the position to be giving orders." He said earning a glare from the duck. X didn't react as Shang ran toward the palace leaving the group of five to take out the Heartless.

It took only moments for them to exterminate the Heartless. Mulan seemed to be fighting much better now that she wasn't being dragged down by the armor she had worn before. Without it she hardly needed the others help. X was impressed, to say the least.

"The emperors in danger!" Mulan said turning toward the palace as the last Heartless was killed. Sora nodded following her gaze.

"No time to lose!" He said before taking off running toward the palace.

Reaching the palace they saw Shan-Yu holding a sword to who looked like the emperor's throat. Before it was necessary for them to get involved Shang dropped down from the roof and punched Shan-Yu back. The three soldiers that had not been Heartless pulled the emperor back into the palace, followed by Shang. Shan-Yu charged at the door but was stopped by Sora, Donal, Goofy, Mulan, and X standing in front of the door.

"It ends now!" Mulan said.

"Right now!" Sora agreed.

Around Shan-Yu a dark energy appeared before he charged the group. The group split, Mulan, Sora, Donald fight Shan-Yu while X and Goofy hung back protecting the gates. It was a harder fight than any before, but it still was over before long. It seemed the advantage of numbers was always really a help. Shan-Yu fell backward down the stairs. X slowly walked away from the door and looked down the stairs, watching the unconscious enemy on the off chance he got up again.

"Now that's what I call burning some hunny-bun! Aw, yeah! Mulan's the best! Mulan's the best! No, wait a minute- I'm the best! Mushu's the best! Mushu's the best!" Mushu yelled jumping around happily. X rolled his eyes turning his attention back to the others as the emperor joined them.

"I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan." The emperor said. Mulan bowed in respect her eyes nervously avoiding any kind of eye contact. "You stole your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated an Imperial soldier. You deceived your commanding officer, shamed the entire Chinese army, and dishonored your family name." The emperor continued making Mulan clearly more nervous.

"We get the picture..." Sora said looking off to the side.

"You're a young woman. And in the end...you have saved us all." The emperor continued. He bowed to Mulan making everyone gasp. A large crowd that had gathered in the courtyard now that things had calmed down followed the emperor all bowing to Mulan.

"Your Excellency!" Mulan said in shock. The emperor rose again, turning to Shang who stood off to the side.

"Captain Li?" The emperor asked. Shang stepped forward and presented the sword Shan-Yu had used to Mulan. "Take this, so the world will know what it is you have done for China." The emperor said.

"Thank you." Mulan said taking the sword.

"Mulan." Shang said.

"Yes?" She asked. Shang only turned to Sora.

"Sora." He said.

"Sir." Sora responded with a salute.

"Donald." Shang said shifting his attention again.

"Wak!" Donald responded.

"Goofy." Shang continued.

"Yes, sir." Goofy said saluting as Sora had.

"X." Shang said.

"I didn't do it." X said quickly looking up. His action earned a chuckle from those around him, so he supposed no one thought it was weird. Or they were getting used to his strange mannerisms.

"Thank you." Shang said with a slight bow.

""Thank you"? Is that all there is to say, Captain? If you wish to win the heart of Fa Mulan, China's bravest woman, you'll have to be a bit more eloquent than that!" The emperor said in disbelief. Shang jumped back in surprise. Mulan however chuckled softly, so X guessed he wasn't messing up too badly.

"Can I get an autograph?" Sora asked Mulan in a joking manner.

"Thanks for everything Sora." Mulan said with a smile.

"Now they gotta let me go back to bein' a guardian! They gotta!" Mushu said loudly, reminding everyone he was in fact still there.

"But Mushu, I thought you already were a family guardian!" Goofy said in shock. Mushu stopped where he was in surprise.

"What? Oh, no, no- don't even worry about that, that's just real technical. Just for us guardians." Mushu said trying to rectify his mistake.

"You tricked us!" Sora said putting his hands on his hips.

"No, no no no, see I did- I just, uh," Mushu said trying to run away. "You know, I just didn't wanna bog y'all down with all the Guardian-ese. See, it's very complex, a lot of fine print. You wouldn't understand." He said as he ran. Before the group could chase after him Shan-Yu's sword began to glow and float in the air. Sora raised his keyblade and X assumed once again he was locking the gate.

"Ok!" Donald said.

"Guess it's about time to be movin' on." Goofy said looking at the sky.

"You shall be missed." The emperor said. X chuckled and shook his head.

"You say that now." He said.

"Is it ok if we come back to visit?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Mulan said.

"We will look forward to your return." Shang agreed.

"You two play nice." Sora said jokingly. Mulan looked away blushing while Shang stepped back in shock.

"Whoa! Watch it, soldier!" Shang warned.

"Goodbye, Sora, Donald, Goofy, X!" Mulan said waving as the four took their leave.

* * *

_A/N: Hey all, thanks again for all the reads and reviews! It means a lot._

_guest 1: Yeah, Sora is definitely not taking that kind of thing from X, lol._

_Guest 2: I'll have to listen to the song and see! Thanks for the suggestion._


	11. Chapter X

**Chapter X; The Heart Beneath Shadows**

Yuki pushed against the heavy doors the led into the familiar white halls of what she hoped was the now empty Castle Oblivion. She didn't have the slightest clue why the doors were so large, it really seemed more a hindrance than anything to her. Slowly entering the entryway she scanned the surrounding area. It seemed empty, but that was no guarantee.

Yuki glanced over her shoulder and out the door. She smiled softly and motioned toward Naminé, who nervously stood at the doorway. She slowly entered, her arms drawn close to her as she made her way to Yuki.

"Well, I'm not certain. But I'm pretty sure neither of the organizations have been here for a while. We should be safe." Yuki said. She gently placed a hand on Naminé's shoulder. Naminé jumped slightly turning to Yuki, her blue eyes wide with fear. She blinked a few times before nodding and looking around again. "You ok?" Yuki asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Fine, just nervous." Naminé answered without hesitation. Yuki frowned as she looked around again. She always hated hearing how scared Naminé sounded. She seemed afraid of everything. It was something Yuki wished she could stop.

"Right. They kept you prisoner here, didn't they?" Yuki asked quietly. Naminé nodded, her attention remaining on the world around her, rather than on Yuki. "Well, if you want we can find a different world. I'm sure the guys at Hollow Bastion wouldn't mind helping." Yuki suggested. Naminé quickly shook her head.

"No, here is probably better. I-I'm a Nobody anyway. They wouldn't help me." She insisted. Yuki frowned placing a hand on her hip.

"Yeah, I'm a Heartless and they don't a have a problem with me." She pointed out. Naminé only smiled softly, as if amused.

"You're special." She said softly.

"And so are you," Yuki said without a thought. She frowned looking down at the ground. Naminé hadn't been the only one to insist Yuki was something special. In fact, most of the other Heartless said similar things, at least the elite ones. Yuki hadn't met many of the Nobody's, but the few she had met seemed to have the same thought. Zexion had even said there was something odd about her. And of course DiZ, he always called her a monarch. That was probably the strangest of the things she had been called.

Yuki glanced up at Naminé once again. The blonde Nobody was still looking around, her fear less apparent now. She looked somewhat calm for the first time since they had left Twilight Town. She had been with DiZ for some time. Yuki wondered if he had ever explained himself to Naminé. Not likely, since he considered her nothing but a monster. But, it was worth asking.

"You know, that DiZ guy called me a monarch more than once," Yuki said. She paced away from Naminé going to the stairs. Naminé watched her, turning just slightly as she waited for Yuki to continue. "I didn't really think much of it at first. But now," Yuki trailed off. It seemed too strange, there was no reason for it.

"But now what?" Naminé asked curiously.

"Does that actually mean something?" Yuki asked looking up at Naminé. Naminé glanced away before nodding.

"Yes." She said quietly. Yuki blinked in surprise, her eyes widening. If that meant something if he hadn't been lying, did that mean she was something more than a simple elite?

"But, I thought I was the lowest ranking of the elites." Yuki said. Naminé shook her head.

"You were told that so you'd cooperate." She explained. "They really had no control over you. You can control them. You're, you're the queen." Naminé said. Yuki stared at Naminé in shock. She had never heard the term used, but it felt wrong. She didn't control anything, and she certainly didn't think she was a queen. She couldn't handle that sort of responsibility. Not with her mind being a mush of half forgotten memories.

"That is ridiculous. I can't control X, or Y." Yuki pointed out, hoping to prove herself to be something less. Naminé smiled softly, and Yuki had a feeling she had expected that sort of thing.

"Y is the princess and X, well he's almost like your knight." Naminé said simply. Yuki frowned yet again. What made them so powerful? Why these three in particular? "It takes a lot more to control higher ranks. So, you've never really been able to command them. But with enough time and practice,"

"I could." Yuki said cutting off Naminé.

"Yes." Naminé agreed with a nod. Yuki sighed heavily hanging her head.

"Well, that would've been nice to know a year ago." She complained. She heard Naminé laugh slightly, amused by her behavior. Yuki found herself smiling for no real reason. "Well, guess it's time to practice." She decided standing up.

X was not a fan of the next world. It was always dark and gloomy, and just seemed heavy and confining. He had been here a few times when he had been with the organizations. Beast's Castle, a world that was occupied by some strange magic that no one had ever really found the source of.

"Hey, what is this place?" Sora asked as he looked around the entryway of the dark castle. X glanced around nervously. Rarely had the castle been empty. But it seemed it was this time. X wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"It's huge!" Donald said in shock.

"And sorta gloomy, don't ya think?" Goofy said. X snickered, once again looking around.

"You're not wrong." He agreed. He glanced back at the group. They were all looking around in wonder. X followed their lead, just in case they decided to look and see what he was doing. He frowned. It was strange, the castle seemed so strangely empty. "Wonder when the last time someone was in here." X said. He was answered with a loud roar that sounded like some kind of animal. If X could remember correctly, it would belong to the Beast the castle was named for. Even so, it was a rather alarming sound. Especially since he sounded very very angry.

"Hey, does anybody else recognize that?" Goofy asked. He sounded a little too cheerful to X. That didn't sound like a good kind of roar. Before X could say anything another roar sounded through the castle halls.

"Hey! That's the Beast!" Sora said happily.

"Yeah." Donald agreed. X frowned. He had always just assumed that no one had found out the name of the castles master. He didn't think his name was actually Beast. He had a very strong urge to laugh, but he held it in.

"What an unfortunate name." X said offhandedly.

"Maybe we should check up on him." Goofy suggested. Before anyone could agree or disagree with him Sora cried out.

"Look!" He pointed to a Heartless slinking across the floor into a side room. It was only a Shadow, not a big threat on its own. But they rarely were alone.

"C'mon!" Donald called leading the chase after the Heartless. The group quickly went to the side door. Donald peeked around the door, taking in the room before the rest got the chance to see what there was. "Where did it go?" Donald asked. X guessed that meant the Shadow had escaped, which wasn't hard for them to do. Donald suddenly moved, entering the room and opening the door enough for the rest of the group to see the room. Like the rest of the castle, the room was dark. The strange thing about the room was the glowing rose in a glass case on the table.

Donald was slowly moving toward the rose almost in a trance. His eyes didn't leave the rose as he moved deeper into the room. X narrowed his eyes at the rose. There must have been something strange about it. He doubted Donald was just attracted to roses. Before Donald reached the rose the Shadow reappeared directly in front of him, rising out of the ground.

"Found it!" Donald cried out as he jumped back. The group drew their weapons entering the room. The Shadow was not alone this time. Several other Heartless were beginning to appear in the room. The Shadow they had originally followed into the room made a rude hand gesture that X had seen far more times than he would like to admit before it slipped back into the ground.

There was no time to worry about the Shadow that got away, however. They were soon surrounded by the remaining Heartless. They would kill one Heartless only for another three to appear. In the small room, maneuverability was soon lost. X couldn't use some of his more common attack patterns without worrying about landing a hit on Sora. X glanced over at Sora, ducking under a magic attack from one of the Heartless.

"Aw, c'mon! Enough already!" Sora complained as he took a moment to look around the room. He ducked an oncoming attack and swung his keyblade at the nearest Heartless releasing a crystalline heart.

"Somebody help us!" Donald called. As if hearing his call the door to the room was thrown open. A tall beast covered in brown fur entered the room. X had never seen the master of this castle before, only heard story from other members. But it was very clear this was the Beast as he threw a group of Heartless to the side as he entered the room.

"Just in time!" Sora said, raising an arm in greeting. The Beast ignored his greeting and threw him across the room with a sweep of his arm. Donald and Goofy were thrown as well. X narrowly avoided being thrown by ducking quickly, though he didn't need to duck very much. The Beast picked up the case and left without a word towards them. X straightened up as Donald sat up rubbing his head.

"Gee, do ya think he maybe forgot who we are?" Goofy asked.

"With this many Heartless around, something must be up," Sora said. He stared out the door where Beast had gone. X glanced around the room, all the Heartless had seemingly vanished. If he got a moment away from the trio maybe he could find a Heartless to ask what their purpose here was, but he'd have to avoid being seen.

"You're right, this isn't normal," X said looking back at Sora.

"Why'd he have to do that?" Donald asked, still sitting on the floor. X chuckled slightly and offered a hand to him. Donald took his hand and allowed X to pull him up. They left the room returning to the entrance hall. It was empty yet again, this time no sign of Heartless at all. Donald stopped, gapping up at the stairs. When X looked that way there was nothing.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"I just know I saw a lady at the top of those stairs..." Donald said, trailing off as he continued to stare at the top of the stairs. X would have hoped they all would have seen something like that, but he supposed it was possible they had missed it. They could have been distracted by the Heartless.

"Well...If the Beast is here in the castle, that lady musta been Belle, right?" Goofy asked, turning to look at Sora and Donald. X frowned and glanced back to the stairs.

"The princess of heart?" X asked. He knew princesses of heart tended to be surrounded by darkness. The light from their hearts cast shadows on the hearts of those closest to them many times. But this was not the darkness X expected. It was different, it didn't feel the same. This darkness hadn't come from light.

It took X a moment to realize the group was staring at him. Sora was frowning, his eyebrows forming a shallow v.

"Yeah, how did you know that?" Sora asked. X quickly looked away and shrugged.

"I know a few things," X said, keeping his gaze on the marble tiles of the floor. He didn't want to explain he had to monitor Maleficent when she had been making her attempt to reach Kingdom Hearts. He couldn't explain that away. Not without telling Sora things he hoped the boy would never have to know. Sora looked away from X, frowning slightly as he looked back at the stairs.

"If that was Belle, she might know what's happened to the Beast," Sora said, returning to the previous topic.

"C'mon! Let's go find her!" Goofy said. Sora nodded and led the way up the stairs into the east wing of the castle. There wasn't much to see. Just more creepy statues and ornate fixtures. The castle must have once been a place of luxury.

There was only one door down the hallway they found. X assumed that there were other ways deeper into the castle where there would be more rooms. However, this seemed to be the right room as a murmur of voices could be heard on the other side. Sora shushed the others as they approached, bringing his finger to his lips. He pointed to the door, to which Donald and Goofy nodded. X looked between the three, unsure of what they were communicating. It seemed he was missing that bit of the group dynamic they had already developed during their first journey. He frowned as Donald stepped back from the door.

"Okay," Donald said preparing to run. Looking from Donald to the door X frowned. He was saved from speaking up by Sora.

"Donald!" Sora said as Donald ran at the door. Before he came in contact with the door it swung open, making Donald fall onto his back. Inside the room was a woman with brown hair tied back behind her head. She wore a simple blue dress with a white apron. Quite different from the last thing X had seen her wear, which had been a ball gown of sorts.

"Hey! Who opened the door?" Donald complained.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're here!" The woman said picking up Donald in a tight hug. She smiled brightly looking between the trio. "Donald! Sora! Goofy!" she said. Her eyes wandered until they landed on X. Quickly her face scrunched in thought. "I've seen you before," she said. X tilted his head to the side.

"Have you?" he asked. "I don't remember a meeting." Belle frowned looking away back to Sora. X let out a breath looking off to the side. He had never technically met the princesses of heart. But he was sure one or two of them had to have spotted him while he had been watching Maleficient.

"This is X, he's our guide," Sora said motioning over to X.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Donald complained from where he was in Belles arms. X was glad for the outburst as it directed attention away from him. Belle heeded Donald's words and set him down. Donald brushed himself off and looked up at Belle. "Where's the Beast?" Donald asked.

"Oh, he must be in the west wing. We don't talk like we used to," Belle said looking off to the side, gripping at her upper arm with her other hand.

"Did something happen?" Sora asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes. Isn't that why you're here?" Belle asked. The group all looked to each other, the focus primarily going to Sora. Sora shrugged looking back to Belle.

"Not exactly. But we can still help!" Goofy said following Sora's lead. Donald nodded in agreement.

"Since we're here and all," Sora said. X had to fight his urge to step on Sora's foot. No need to make it sound like he didn't want to help.

"The Beast won't talk to you?" Donald asked.

"He's been acting strange lately. The only ones who might know are locked up in the dungeon. I want to help them, but," Belle trailed off, her brown eyes falling to the side.

"Wait a second. Who locked who up?" Sora asked.

"The Beast locked up his servants," Belle said. X blinked in surprise.

"But why?" Donald asked.

"That's what I don't know," Belle admitted. Sora crossed his arms and tapped his chin.

"Hmm. Where's this dungeon?" he asked, glancing up at Belle.

"You can get to the undercroft from the west hall. The dungeon is down there," she answered. X thought it was strange she knew where the dungeon was so easily. He hoped it was just because of her natural curiosity and not because she herself had paid a visit to such an unpleasant place. X was fairly certain he had seen the dungeon while conducting missions in the castle, and he was certain he hadn't liked it.

"West hall. Got it," Sora said. He turned to exit the door, giving no indication the group was to follow. All the same Donald and Goofy turned as well.

"Be careful!" Belle said. Sora gave her a thumbs up before exiting the room, the other three following behind him.

It didn't take long to find their way into the west hall. It was just across the stairs from where they had been, and like before it seemed they didn't have very many opportunities to get lost. X glanced at the suits of armor on either side of the hall as they looked for the entrance Belle had promised.

"There should be a way into the undercroft around here," Sora said looking around the hall. X followed his gaze, stopping when he saw a wardrobe he had not seen in the hall before. It was positioned exactly where he thought the doors should be.

"There," X nodded toward the wardrobe. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all nodded heading towards the wardrobe. X had to admit, though being in the Organization had been one of his least favorite experiences it had its uses. And he was grateful for that.

X joined the group as Sora tried shoving the wardrobe aside. X was amazed someone as small as him could manage to push the wardrobe so far. He was no means as muscular as other wielders X had known, but it seemed he did have quite a bit of strength. X was startled from his thoughts when the wardrobe spoke.

"Do you mind!?" the wardrobe asked. Most of the group fell silent in surprise their mouths hung open. Luckily X was able to come to his senses quickly and stepped in front of the rest of the group.

"We apologize, Belle had asked us to get into the dungeon," X said. It appeared to be the right thing to say as the Wardrobe quickly calmed down.

"Goodness! You're here to help my friends? Well, why didn't you say so?" she asked. Sora looked at X raising an eyebrow.

"Er..." he said. X chuckled trying not to roll his eyes at his naiveness.

"We were in a hurry, Belle seemed rather frantic and we wanted to ease her mind quickly," X explained smoothly. The Wardrobe seemed to calm herself, shaking in way X imagined would look more normal on a human trying to settle themselves.

"I'm sorry to startle you. Oh, I used to be human, you know, until the enchantress cast her spell. I was turned into a wardrobe when the prince was turned into a beast," the Wardrobe said. X had to pause for a moment to realize what she had said.

"The prince is the Beast!?" Donald said in shock.

"The Beast is a prince!?" Goofy said in an equal amount of shock. Hearing it know X supposed he should have guessed. He knew there had been some spell that made all the inhabitants take on the appearance of objects. The Beast had always been the one to be in control as he had seen. They were just continuing their lives before as best they could.

"That's right. Although his behavior was far from princely at the time," the Wardrobe confirmed. Sora frowned tapping his chin.

"What's this about a...spell?" he asked.

"That's quite some magic," X said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Well, it was a cold winter's night," the Wardrobe began. The trio leaned forward as if to get closer and better hear her story. X stayed back but kept his focus on the Wardrobe. This was information he had never heard while with the Organization. "And that's enough for now. You can hear the rest when you've rescued the others. It'll give you something to look forward to," she said.

"Aww," Donald said his shoulders slumping. X chuckled at the reaction.

"Hurry, now. The dungeon is damp and chilly. Certainly no place for a clock!" the Wardrobe said, straightening herself so she stood even taller than before.

"A clock?" Sora echoed.

"You'll find out soon enough," the Wardrobe said.

They wasted no more time entering the undercroft. It was a small room with two doors in the back. Various materials were stacked on either wall. A stack of boxes looked to be enough to climb up to get to a higher platform with another set of doors. X didn't recall being in this room before, but if he had to guess the other doors led to some kind of tunnels for servants to use to get across the castle easily.

"This must be it," Sora said as they looked around. Donald approached the door on the other side of the room, placing his ear to it. X quickly drew his daggers as he saw the eyes on the two creatures attached to the door glow. Donald reacted without need of warning falling back from the doors as the Heartless' fist hit the ground where he had been not seconds before. The two Heartless on either side looked like some kind of gargoyles. They remained attached to the door on one side, with only one arm available to attack. Their eyes glowed and darkness rose off of them.

It wasn't a hard fight. X found himself ducking under fists that came in contact with one or more party member behind him and scratching his daggers across the hard stone surface. Each slash left a shallow scratch that oozed a dark essence. It was the only sign any damage had been done, as the Heartless did not slow down in the least bit.

X kept a close eye on the others. All of them had been hit by the Heartless' attacks. He could see bruises on Sora and a few scrapes from the rough stone surface. Nothing looked too dangerous or life-threatening. He couldn't get a good read on Donald and Goofy's level of injury. Regardless, they kept fighting so it couldn't have been too bad. X dodged another punch, rolling to the side. While the Heartless was focusing on X Sora ran forward and with a final strike from his keyblade, the Heartless released their captive heart with a dying shriek.

X straightened up, casting cure on those around him as he looked up where the heart had vanished. He had seen many Heartless die. But he never got used to thinking that was the way he would lose his life. One heart and that was all that would be left.

"You think the dungeon's past this door?" Donald asked, pulling X from his thoughts.

"C'mon, we gotta set those servants free!" Goofy said.

"He's right. Let's go," Sora agreed. He pushed open the doors and found a small room with only a few scattered objects on chairs. X's first instinct was to brush off the room as empty. But thinking back to the Wardrobe and the other reports of objects moving he decided to wait and see.

"There's nobody here," Sora said. His voice had noticeably dropped, X guessed he had wanted to save the servants greatly, for whatever reason.

"You mean there's nobody to rescue," Donald said, sounding just as disappointed as Sora.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," X said as he watched the candelabra on one chair seem to twitch.

"Did someone say "rescue"?" A voice said.

"Shhh! Keep quiet. It might be them," another voice said.

"Oh, they look like nice boys to me," a female voice said. X smirked looking at the set of objects sitting on the chairs. There were four, the candelabra, an old clock, a teapot, and a small teacup with a chip in the side.

"We are nice. We're your friends," Goofy said looking around the room.

"Yeah, Belle sent us to find you," Sora said. After he spoke the four objects X had previously noted jumped down off the chairs to sit in front of them. Sora gasped in shock but quickly covered it. He crouched down to be closer to the level of the servants.

"I'm Sora. Donald. Goofy. X," Sora introduced, pointing to each in turn. Donald reached forward to pick up the clock, but X stepped in his way to prevent that. As these objects used to be human he doubted they would appreciate being held like that. "I'm glad you're ok," Sora said.

"It is we who are overjoyed to see you!" the candelabra said, spreading his arms wide.

"Did somebody put a spell on you guys too?" Goofy asked. X bit back a sarcastic comment. That was a rather stupid question, and if it had been anyone else, X most certainly would have been sarcastic with them.

"Yes, that's right! You've heard! It was the enchantress," the clock said. X quickly realized it would be a problem if they didn't learn the names of the servants.

"It seems so long ago," the candelabra said.

"It was a cold winter's night," the teapot said, "An old beggar woman came to the castle and asked for shelter."

"But the master of this castle, that is, of course, the prince turned her away. All because of her, ahem, meager appearance," the clock continued for her, not taking a moment to think about his response.

"That's awful!" Goofy said.

"Oui. He was a spoiled prince, so selfish and...how shall I say...cruel," the candelabra said, agreeing with Goofy.

"Lumiere!" the clock scolded. X took note of the name, so at least he knew one of them.

"The old woman warned our master not to be deceived by appearances. Still, he would not take her in," the teapot continued as if she hadn't heard the clock scolding Lumiere. the clock sighed before picking up where the teapot had left off once again.

"Then the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress," he said.

"She turned the prince into a beast, a shape she thought fitting for his cold heart," the teapot said.

"And to further punish him, everyone in the castle was enchanted too," the clock finished. The group sat in silence for a moment processing what they had been told.

"Wow," Sora said. "That's quite a story."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Goofy asked.

"Oh no, dear," the teapot said with a smile.

"We already know what needs to be done, but with the master out of sorts," Lumiere said looking down. His arms moved as well, and X was grateful the area was mostly stone. It seemed a candelabra with lighted candles on his hand would set a lot of things on fire.

"He sure is acting weird," Sora said.

"It's almost as if he's forgotten how to trust others," the teapot said sadly, leaning onto the small little cup next to her. The teacup hadn't spoken, and X suspected he really didn't know much about was going on. Just based on size comparison (which wasn't much to go on really) he guessed the teacup was just a child.

"You don't suppose he's been turned into a Heartless, do you?" the clock asked looking amongst the group.

"Heartless!?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all yelled jumping back. X started back from them blinking several times as he tried to adjust to the sudden noise.

"If they're a part of this, then it's a good thing we're here," Sora said, his face quickly turning serious, his eyes hardening and his mouth set in a thin line.

"Let's go find the Beast!" Donald said. Lumiere jumped toward the door, hopping along as he went.

"Follow me, Messieurs, I know a shortcut," he said, waving his arms.

The shortcut was as X expected the tunnel system that led through the castle from the undercroft. It wasn't exactly the easiest way to get through. It required holding down a lever to drop down lanterns that had to be relit by Lumiere after Sora put out a dark fire. X took over for the clock, who was named Cogsworth, holding down the lever so they didn't have to repeat the task so many times. After getting out of the tunnels they split up. Lumiere and Mrs. Potts and Chip (the teapot and the teacup as X managed to find out) all went on their way, leaving Cogsworth as their guide to the Beast's chamber.

The inside of the Beast's room was dark and gloomy like the rest of the castle. Furniture was destroyed with only a table with the rose sitting on it. The Beast stood beside the table with a hooded figure. X knew it was a member of the Organization, but which one he wasn't sure.

"It's time you dealt with Belle. She's scheming to take everything you have. This castle, your precious rose. And then- your life. Trust no one. Feed your anger! Only anger will keep you strong," the hooded figure said. It took X a moment to place the voice. He wasn't as familiar with Organization XIII as he had led Yen Sid to believe. He knew their names, but past that he couldn't say he knew many of them.

"I've had enough of strength. There's only one thing I want-" the Beast said. He was cut off from finishing by the thought by the hooded figure laughing.

"What? To love, and be loved in return? Who could ever love a beast?" the hooded man asked. X frowned, searching his memory for the owner of the voice. He glanced up as the Beast roared looking at the coat. It was Xaldin who was here. He was the one usually in this world if X could remember correctly. Xaldin looked over to see the new arrivals. "See? She has accomplices," Xaldin said motioning to them. He put up a barrier to protect the rose before vanishing in a dark corridor.

"Hey, prince!" Sora greeted, taking a few steps towards the Beast. The Beast turned and roared at him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Apparently he didn't like that," X said summoning his daggers as the Beast charged at him.

This fight was a more difficult fight than X remembered in a while. Mostly because X couldn't harm the target. He coated his blades in a thin layer of darkness, dulling the blades so they wouldn't cause any lasting damage. He noticed the others similarly struggled, trying to knock sense into the Beast without actually harming him.

Sora jumped to the side, causing the Beast to run into a wall. The Beast stumbled back from the wall taking in his surroundings. X remained tensed, ready to move in an instant. The Beast looked around, his attention landing on Cogsworth.

"Cogsworth," the Beast said, blinking in surprise. "What happened?" he asked looking around.

"Well, Master..ah, you see...that is...How shall I say...ah, actually...mm," Cogsworth said, wringing his hands as he stumbled over his words.

"Well, you put everybody down there in that dungeon!" Donald said explaining something that had happened. Beast turned his attention to Donald.

"I did what?" Beast asked.

"Ah, you did!" Cogsworth agreed. Beast looked down a look X was familiar with crossing his face. X had seen that look far too often in the mirror.

"It was Xaldins fault. He probably tricked you into letting your darkness control you," X said calmly. The room fell into silence as they waited for Beasts reply. X glanced at Sora, who was looking at X with narrowed eyes. X shrugged looking away.

"Xaldin, that's his name. He came from the darkness. He used my anger to control me. He took all my sorrow, my sadness, my pain- and turned it all into rage. There was nothing I could do. I could no longer see the truth," the Beast said. He looked down at his hands clenching them so his claws almost seemed to dig into his palms.

"Well, I'll be. That must be why you threw all of your friends down there into the dungeon. You wanted to make sure that you didn't hurt 'em, right?" Goofy said, looking at the Beast.

"Was that it? Was it to protect them?" the Beast asked.

"Sure. We know you're good inside," Goofy said.

"He's right, Master. We've all seen how kind you can be," Cogsworth said taking a few hops forward. "After all, Belle can see the goodness in your heart, but I'm afraid you've yet to-"

"Belle!" the Beast said cutting Cogsworth off. He looked to the side with a heavy sigh. "I've mistreated her. I've mistreated her and been so selfish."

"She didn't say anything about that," Sora said looking to the others for confirmation. They all nodded in agreement. Beast sighed once again.

"She'd never tell anyone of my cruelty. She's too good," he said simply.

"You see, I'm afraid he judges himself far too harshly," Cogsworth said leaning over towards Sora. X nodded glancing back at the Beast.

"Why don't you just go talk to her?" Sora suggested.

"But," the Beast began.

"No excuses! C'mon, we'll go with you," Sora insisted.

There wasn't much more argument as they went across the castle back to the east wing. They went to Belle's room and found the Wardrobe that had previously been blocking their way in the room.

"Master!" the Wardrobe said happily.

"Everybody's safe now," Donald said.

"Wonderful! Thank you!" the Wardrobe said.

"Where is Belle?" the Beast asked, ignoring the previous conversation.

"Why, she left in a hurry. Something about going after this, man in black," the Wardrobe explained.

"What!? Why doesn't she do as she's told?" the Beast asked, his temper quickly rising.

"Temper, temper! Her spirit is what makes Belle so special," the Wardrobe chided.

"We'd better go find her!" Sora said.

They ran from the east wing into the entrance hall. There was nothing there and no indication of where they were supposed to go until they heard Belle yelling.

"I'm warning you! You'll be sorry!" Belle yelled though she was nowhere in sight.

"Belle! Where are you?" Beast yelled.

"Beast! Help! I'm in the ballroom!" Belle yelled. The group took off running towards the ballroom. They saw Belle running across the ballroom towards the doors to the balcony. X hardly had time to note this room was far brighter than the rest of the castle in comparison before people starting yelling.

"Belle!" the Beast yelled.

"I'm all right!" Belle yelled back as she escaped onto the balcony, locking the door behind her. As she escaped it became apparent what she was running from. A large Heartless that looked much like a ball and chain.

X spent this fight protecting Sora yet again. It wasn't too difficult, almost like fighting a Darkball Heartless. Just larger and spikier. With its erratic movement, X was spending a lot of time rolling out of the way. Fortunately, it wasn't too long until they had defeated the Heartless with minor injuries.

"We did it!" Sora cheered.

"So you think," the voice of Xaldin said. They turned quickly to see Xaldin standing in front of the door back to the entrance hall.

"Xaldin!" the Beast yelled. He and Sora ran towards Xaldin, preparing for an attack. Before they could even get close Xaldin threw out his arm, sending out a wave of dark power.

"Farewell," Xaldin said as he vanished into the darkness. X sighed heavily looking around the room.

"What does he want here?" the Beast asked turning to the world traveling group. X shrugged looking at Sora, Donald, and Goofy. He knew it had been a goal of the Organization to turn the Beast into a Heartless for some time.

"He must be with Organization XIII. Ever heard of the Nobodies? When a strong-hearted person turns into a Heartless, a Nobody's created, too. See, the Organization...they've got control of all the Nobodies," Sora explained, trying to figure out the reason himself.

"That's right," Goofy said with a nod. "And they were gonna make you into a Heartless. That way, they could get that Nobody of yours and have control over it." Sora pointed at Goofy agreeing with him.

"That wouldn't be a first. Attempts like that can be made pretty regularly," X admitted. Yen Sid had told them X knew about the Organization. He supposed there wasn't a problem admitting some things he knew.

"You're alright!" Belle said as she entered the room again.

"Belle!" the Beast called as he ran to her. The servants entered the room and lined up beside the world travelers. "Belle. I-I'm sorry-I wasn't myself. I hope I haven't done anything to hurt you. Forgive me," the Beast said Belle smiled at him softly and he smiled in return.

"I know you weren't yourself. You don't have to apologize. But I had hoped that you might have changed a little bit," she said with a wag of her finger in the Beast direction. He looked away from her sheepishly. "I wish you could start trusting me." She crossed her arms as the Beast continued to avoid eye contact.

"Oh, I am afraid time is running short," Lumiere said.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked looking down at Lumiere.

"Remeber the rose?" Lumiere asked. The group all nodded.

"From the Beast's room?" Donald asked, ensuring they were thinking of the same rose. Not that X could think of any other rose they had seen.

"Precisely. You see, if the master can learn to love, and earn love in return before the last petal falls," Cogsworth explained.

"The spell will be broken," Lumiere finished.

"Really? You think he's gonna make it?" Sora asked. He looked back up to the Beast and Belle who were in conversation. X smirked a little watching them. He didn't need to hear an answer to Sora's question.

"We think so," Mrs. Potts said as she rubbed up against Chip.

"Yep, I think you're right," Goofy said with a chuckle. X smirked and nodded looking back to Sora.

"I hope you're right," he said. Very suddenly Sora seemed to be drawn into a trance as he had been previously in the worlds before. He locked the world with his keyblade, dropping it to his side as he looked up at the ceiling.

"What happened?" the Beast asked.

"The gate is open!" Donald explained.

"Do you have to go?" Belle asked, her head tilting to the side.

"Yeah," Sora said with a nod.

"Now, no more arguin', ok?" Goofy asked. The Beast and Belle both looked away from each other, Belle's face turned red. And X suspected under all the fur the Beast was red as well.

"We'll see to it," Lumiere said with a bow.

"Take care, dears," Mrs. Potts said.

"You're welcome here anytime," Cogsworth said. X smirked and rolled his eyes. They said that now, but he doubted it would hold true.

"If you hear anything about Riku or the King, the Heartless, the Organization- anything at all- let us know!" Sora said as he turned away from them. "Ok, gotta go!" The group all waved goodbye. And left the world onto the next place in their journey.


	12. Chapter XI

**Chapter XI; Forgotten Friends**

Upon boarding the Gummi ship, the engine started and began to move the ship. X frowned as he looked around at the others. None of them were sitting remotely near the steering wheel. Donald and Goofy had grabbed onto the wall for support as the ship lurched into movement. Sora hadn't been so fortunate and was sitting on the ground rubbing his back.

"Huh?" Goofy said as he released the wall and made his way to his seat. X walked over to Sora and offered his hand. Sora smiled gratefully and took it allowing X to pull him to his feet. After Sora was up X walked away from him, hands going into his pockets as he went to a window.

"Is the ship supposed to be doing that?" X asked as he watched the stars pass by.

"Hey, wait a minute. Is the ship moving all on its own?" Sora asked watching the stars move, then looking to the seat by the steering wheel he usually occupied, though Donald, Goofy, and Jiminey (the cricket that lived in Sora's hood and recorded their journey) had him under heavy supervision. They didn't trust him not to crash the ship.

"Yup! Looks like we're headed toward Hollow Bastion," Goofy said from his seat. Sora nodded as he sat down himself. X remained standing as they made their journey to Hollow Bastion. He always liked watching the stars. They reminded him of Y, though he knew they were other worlds.

Y was always like a star to him. Shining brightly despite the darkness that seemed to suffocate her. In the realm of darkness, he remembered thinking she had glowed. Even as a Heartless her heart was brighter than almost anyone. Shining as bright as the heart of any world, even though she was only one person.

X was broke from his train of thought by the Gummi ship lurching to a stop at Hollow Bastion. The group all exited the ship finding themselves in the Borough. Looking around nothing seemed wrong. There weren't even any Heartless, and the security system that had attacked X last time didn't even activate. Sora led the way through the town towards the house that belonged to Merlin.

"I wonder what's up," Sora said as he looked around. He stopped as he saw Merlin's home. The door was open and Heartless were running out of the building. Before any of them could draw their weapons the Heartless vanished. X frowned as he looked around. He didn't see anyone else who could command them to just leave. The Heartless were acting strangely here.

"C'mon!" Sora said as he ran towards the house. Inside they found Merlin on the floor. Sora rushed over to him and helped the old wizard to his feet. X nervously glanced around the room. There had to be something that had attracted the Heartless here.

"Well, now, took your time, did you?" Merlin asked as he brushed himself off. He straightened his glasses on his nose as he looked at Sora.

"Oh, was it you who summoned us, Merlin?" Goofy asked. Merlin nodded as he continued to brush himself off. X couldn't see a scratch on the man, which was strange considering he had clearly just been in a tussle with a group of Heartless.

"Yes, yes. But it seems I used too much power in doing so, and those infernal Heartless," Merlin said. Sora seemed to sense something coming and quickly cut off Merlin before he could get much farther.

"So what's up?" Sora asked.

"Well, I happened to stumble across this in the Zero District," Merlin replied summoning a book to his hands. X didn't get a very good look at the cover, but he saw at the very least a picture of what could have been a bear on the front. The book was leather bound with a gold clasp. Sora recognized the book immediately.

"Pooh's storybook!" Sora said excitedly taking the book.

"That's right. I know you're a good friend of Winnie the Pooh, Sora-that's why I summoned you. And when I did, I was attacked by the Heartless. Of course, I fought back with some rather powerful magic, but then I began to fear the book would be damaged, so I," Merlin explained. He suddenly changed demeanor as a new thought occurred to him. "Oh! Now, just a moment. Leon and the others will need to hear this too. I-I'd better go find them. Be back in a jiffy." He vanished in a puff of white smoke leaving the four standing in his house with the book that apparently the Heartless were after.

"I wonder how Pooh's doing," Sora said as he looked at the book.

"Wanna find out?" Donald asked. Sora smiled brightly handing the book off to Donald.

"Yeah!" Donald took the book and held it open in front of Sora. Goofy raised one of his hands to his mouth in worry.

"Sora," he said in warning.

"I have a bad feeling about this," X said looking at the book. He realized now that the book was a whole world in itself. He could feel the hearts in the book, filled with all kind of emotion. It was a concentrated source of hearts, and it drew Heartless to it like any world.

"Cover for me, ok?" Sora asked. After he spoke he disappeared into the book. Donald lowered the book and held it, looking at the pages. X frowned glancing over his shoulder to the door. A shocked gasp from Goofy returned his attention to the group.

There were soldier Heartless in the house now surrounding Donald and the book. X quickly summoned his daggers and shot at a Heartless before it could hit Donald. He turned and threw his dagger at another Heartless before turning and stabbing down on one beside him. Goofy had drawn his shield and had joined X in defending Donald and the book.

"What is with this book?" X asked as he called his dagger back to his hand. He spun the blade before stabbing behind him into the Heartless. No matter the world it shouldn't attract Heartless like this. There was something else fascinating about the book, though he had no clue what it was.

X glanced around at the growing number of Heartless. Soon there would be no room to fight in the house. X whistled softly, carefully watching Donald and Goofy as to ensure they didn't hear him. The Heartless all turned to face him, following the sound. X continued to whistle a soft song as he led the Heartless out of the house into the open square outside of it. Outside X ceased his whistling and restarted the fight. Goofy joined him seconds later swinging his shield and destroying the Heartless. Even so, they were outnumbered as the Heartless seemed to just keep multiplying.

"Donald put the book down and come on!" X yelled throwing his dagger again before calling it back to his hand. Donald joined them in a few moments after finding a suitable place to put his book down. Donald wasn't outside long when they heard a loud thump from inside.

"Sora! Hurry up!" Donald yelled. Sora ran out of the house, keyblade in hand. He joined the fray quickly cutting down the numbers. It seemed they stopped multiplying now that a keyblade was present.

"Did you bring the book, Sora?" Goofy asked as they cleared out the last of the Heartless outside. Before Sora could answer a group of Soldier Heartless ran out of the house, in the hands of one of them was the book Sora had just been visiting.

"That's a no," X said. He took aim with one of his daggers and threw it at the group of Heartless.

"Hey!" Sora yelled running at the group.

"Give that back!" Donald said running with Sora.

It didn't take long to finish off the Heartless in the area. X picked up the book and dusted off the cover. It didn't look too badly damaged on the outside, a few claw marks here and there but nothing too serious.

"They seemed really interested in this book," X said as he handed it off to Sora. Sora frowned taking the book from X and looking at it himself.

"I wonder why," he said before looking up. "Think it's ok?" he asked looking to the others for their opinions. X shrugged as he glanced to the other two.

"Gawrsh, maybe ya better go back and make sure Pooh's alright," Goofy suggested.

"But what about Merlin?" Donald asked. X held back a remark about Donald encouraging Sora to enter the book first time despite Goofy and X both being wary of the idea. This time it seemed more important to return to the book.

"Well, I guess we could explain," Goofy said.

"Don't worry, we got this," X said walking back towards the house. He wanted a more covered area to be in, in case they had to protect the book again.

"Great!" Sora said following X into the house. They set the book on a stand and Sora reentered the book. X frowned leaning against a wall while they waited for Sora or Merlins return. Merlin was the first to arrive, appearing just as he had disappeared in the center of the room. He looked around and quickly realized Sora was missing.

"Where did Sora go?" Merlin asked.

"He's in the book," X explained with a nod towards the book. "Heartless got a hold of it and he wanted to be sure this Pooh was alright." Merlin sighed heavily and took a few steps towards the book to inspect it.

"Such an impatient boy," Merlin said. X chuckled and nodded looking back to the book.

"So it seems," he agreed. He glanced to Merlin with a thoughtful expression. Such an interesting book had to have an interesting tale to go along with it. "Where did you get this book? I've never seen anything quite like it." X asked.

"A fellow found it years ago. Thought I had dropped it," Merlin answered without missing a beat. "I offered to hold onto it for him. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him since. I wonder whatever happened to those three." he wondered. X frowned looking at the book. Years ago. A strange fellow in a group of three that hadn't been seen in years. It wasn't quite the same story but it was enough to make his stomach clench tightly. Had Ventus found this book before? Or had it been Terra? X shook his head. He was over thinking it, he was sure. Surely Terra would have mentioned the book to him if he had found it.

X felt his chest tighten at the thought. That assumption would only be true if they had been friends. Which he and Terra had been far from. X took a deep breath to clear his thoughts. He didn't need to think of the past now.

Sora returned from his adventure in the book moments later. He looked a little dazed as he came out of the book, a frown on his face as he looked around.

"Couldn't be bothered to wait up for an old wizard, eh?" Merlin asked as he took a step towards Sora. Sora turned his attention on to Merlin, still frowning.

"Sorry about that," Sora said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"How are things in there?" Merlin asked.

"Well, Pooh seems to have forgotten all about me. And not just me- all his other friends, too," Sora said. The reason for his frown was apparent then. He didn't want to be forgotten by his friends in the book.

"I was afraid of that," Merlin muttered as he stepped forward to look at the book. Looking inside X could see the scratch marks from the Heartless. He could only imagine what kind of damage that would do to the world inside the book. It was a shame, books were such precious things in the first place. Any damage to any book was sad. But it was even worse on such a special book. "I suspect it has something to do with those pages the Heartless stole. You'll have to collect the torn pages and repair the book to put things right. This book is one of the worlds most cerished elements. I'd been meaning to tell Leon I'd found it, but perhaps we should keep it between us for now."

"We will!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all agreed with a salute. X only nodded.

"Good, good," Merlin said turning away.

Before Sora could lead the way back to the Gummi ship, or wherever it was he planned on taking them next the brown-haired man known as Leon burst into the house. His face was set in a stern expression as he looked around the room. He locked eyes on Sora and seemed to let out a relieved breath.

"Sora, good. We've got Heartless, it's a massive one too," Leon said quickly. Sora straightened up, clearly ready to run to wherever the problem was.

"What? Where?" he asked.

"Around Ansem's castle. Yuffie is there now but I don't know how long she can hold out," Leon answered.

"Wasn't the young one there as well?" Merlin asked. X frowned looking at the wizard. Who was this young one? Had they missed an introduction the last time they had been in Hollow Bastion. Were there more members of the committee?

"Yeah, she's doing the best she can, but she's not great with large ones yet apparently," Leon answered. X turned his narrowed gaze to Leon now. What were they talking about? Large what?

"Well let's go!" Sora said before taking off running, pushing past Leon. X, Donald, and Goofy were left with little choice but to follow him, running to keep up with him.

They crossed the town in no time at all finding themselves in an open space around Ansem's castle. There was nothing as far as X could see. The ground shook causing the group to stumble. In front of them, a girl slid across the ground jumping down from a higher ledge. She held two keyblades, one behind her and one crossing the front of her body. The ground shook again as a large Heartless jumped down as well. It was on four legs with rippling muscles that looked too large for its body. It was dark in color with a mane of red hair down its neck. Two hours protruded from its head. Its face was a long muzzle that looked almost like a dog. A Heartless emblem was clear on its chest, pink and purple. The colors of Rimyei.

"Yuki! Are you alright?" Leon yelled. X had to do a double take to look at the girl again. He had been so distracted by the Heartless he had hardly realized fighting the Heartless was one of his best friends. She wasn't wearing the white cloak he was used to, instead wearing red, white, and black. Colors that he found appropriate.

"Define alright," Yuki called back not looking away from the King Behemoth. The Heartless lowered its head and charged at her. She raised her keyblades to defend herself, but there was little need for it. Sora jumped towards her and managed to redirect the charge.

"Look out!" Sora yelled landing beside Yuki.

"Thanks," Yuki said not looking at Sora.

"No problem," Sora replied.

Without a further word, the two keyblade wielders attacked the Behemoth. The others tried to join the fight, but a barrier had appeared, separating the groups. X pounded on the barrier in annoyance.

Yuki did her best not to pay attention to Sora who fought beside her. She swung herself up onto the Behemoths back from its horns using Heartless Keeper. She landed with Kingdom Keeper stabbed down in its head. The Behemoths bellowed in pain and shook. Yuki gripped tightly to her key to avoid being thrown. From the side she watched Sora throw his keyblade to distract it.

She pulled Kingdom Keeper from its head as it turned towards Sora. It lowered its head, magic forming between its horns that were lowered to aim at Sora. Yuki jumped towards its forehead slashing her keys forward. As the magic shot, she was pushed back and off the side of its head. She watched Sora roll to the other side avoiding the magic attack, though it did seem to graze him.

The Behemoth stomped its front feet claws digging into the ground. The ground shook knocking Yuki to the ground. She groaned pushing herself to her feet. On the other side, Sora did the same, using his key for support. Their eyes met and Sora nodded.

Together they ran at the Behemoth. Yuki launched herself onto its neck running across it, dragging her keyblades behind her. Sora did the same, only running underneath the Behemoth. The Behemoth roared in pain and collapsed to the ground. It was weakened, but not down yet. Yuki took a deep breath and raised Heartless Keeper. Darkness and light coated the blade, swirling together like twilight. She stabbed down into the Behemoths head and willed the magic to spread outward. The Behemoth gave one last groan as it faded back into the darkness.

Yuki lowered her keys and watched the crystalline heart fly up into the sky towards the moon she knew was waiting for it.

"Go in peace, and find a new life," Yuki whispered softly before looking down. Her limbs felt heavy now like they always did after any kind of magic. Especially something like that. But it seemed the most humane way to kill the Heartless. She didn't want it to suffer.

Yuki looked up, her eyes meeting with familiar bright blue eyes. She held in a gasp as she had to remind herself who those eyes belonged to. It wasn't who she wanted it to be.

"Yuki, it's really you," Sora said excitedly. He took a few steps forward a smile spreading across his face.

"Sora," Yuki said. She frowned and looked off to the side. The name felt so unnatural to say. It almost tasted bitter on her tongue. That wasn't the name she wanted to say. This wasn't the friend she wanted to see.

"Are you ok? Is something wrong?" Sora asked taking another step towards Yuki. His keyblade was gone. If Yuki wanted to attack him now she could. He wouldn't be able to stop her. Roxas would be free, all she had to do was take his heart.

"No, no everything's fine," Yuki said as she looked up at Sora. Meeting his blue eyes Yuki banished her keys, a heavy feeling clawing in her chest.

"It's great to see you. So much has happened since you left. And it looks like a lot has happened with you too," Sora said stepping even closer. Yuki chuckled bitterly looking away.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it," she said. A lot hardly touched the subject. A lot didn't convey her entire world had been flipped upside down twice over. It didn't cover her best friends had died or were going to die. It didn't cover not having a heart you always thought you did.

"I missed you," Sora said.

"Missed you too," Yuki echoed. The words left her mouth before she could really process them. She wasn't sure if they were true or not.

Yuki couldn't amend herself, suddenly Sora was on his knees, his head between his hands. He groaned in pain, making Yuki step back from him. She didn't think she had done anything to cause this, but would the others believe her.

Yuki swallowed turning her eyes yellow. She could see Sora's heart, it was bright like the early morning over a body of water that clearly reflected it back. When shadows were still long to hide creatures in the darkness. Another heart seemed to be clashing with his. One that looked like the twilight sky before night fully fell, the last rays of light still fighting off the darkness of the night.

Yuki's breath caught, she could hear the cries of the twilight heart. _Look at me, please look at me._

Yuki reached out to Sora her hand shaking, her eyes focused on his heart. She glanced up to his face still contorted in pain. She looked back to his heart and let out a shaky breath. Her hand drew slowly closer and closer, shaking like a shell caught in ocean waves in a storm.

Her hand fell to rest on his shoulder.

"Roxas, please. That's enough," Yuki said softly.

Sora felt the pain leave his head and chest. The pounding voice died out, no longer crying out for Yuki to look at him. To see him. But he felt a strange feeling in his chest a tightness that was close to anger but weighed with sadness.

"Wha-" Sora looked up to ask. But Yuki no longer stood in front of him. He frowned as he pushed himself to his feet. He glanced around but saw no sign of the black-haired girl that had been with him seconds before.

"Sora!" Sora turned to X. The blonde boy ran up to him with the others that had been trapped behind the barrier that had fallen.

"Was that the friend you were looking for?" Goofy asked. Sora nodded looking back to the empty space Yuki had just been standing in.

"Yeah, but she seems upset," Sora said frowning. The feeling was still lingering, reminding him of the hurt he felt when Riku had turned on him.

"Hm, strange," Leon said tapping his chin as he looked down.

"When we asked Yuki said she didn't know you," Yuffie said crossing her arms.

"I wonder why she lied," Leon said, lost in his own thoughts. X bit his bottom lip looking at Sora, worry filling his purple eyes.

"What did she say to you?" X asked.

"That was the weirdest part. She called me Roxas, and said that was enough," Sora said. He didn't even know anyone named Roxas, though the name did sound strangely familiar. And Yuki had been his friend since they were kids. She couldn't have forgotten his name. Not when she had said it earlier in the conversation.

"Who's Roxas?" Donald asked. Sora shrugged.

"I dunno," he admitted.

"Hm, I wonder," X said softly looking up from where he stood. He glanced around hoping to see Yuki. But there was no such luck. She was long gone.

Not far from the group, hidden away from sight by a pile of rocks Yuki stood shaking and hand pulled tightly to her chest. She gripped so tightly to the seashell in her hand, it seemed it might cut her. Her body shook with each new intake of air. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm sorry Roxas, I'm so, so sorry."


	13. Chapter XII

**Chapter XII; Under Every Hero**

The next world seemed just as dark and dreary as Beast Castle had been. The rough walls were hewn from stone and an ominous green light filled the cavern. It looked like a great entryway with stone doorways leading deeper into the earth. X was almost certain he had never been here before.

"Are ya sure this is the Coliseum?" Goofy asked looking around the room. X suppressed a shudder, as a breath of cold wind passed them. He heard a faint murmuring sound coming from down some of the cavern tunnels.

"It's that way!" Donald said pointing toward a set of stairs. He ruffled his feathers up and began walking to the doors. Sora chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, guess we were a little off," he said following Donald. X followed after him still glancing around. He had a bad feeling about whatever this place was. He didn't know what this had to do with the Coliseum, but it seemed a difficult mistake to make.

The group stopped when they heard the cry of a woman. Turning quickly they saw a woman with brown hair wearing a light purple dress on the ground a group of Heartless surrounding her. Sora drew his keyblade glaring at the Heartless who were yet to notice them.

"Heartless!" Sora yelled. He led the charge as he usually did, swinging his keyblade and sending the Heartless flying across the cavern.

It didn't take long to chase the Heartless away from the woman. Sora offered a hand to her as she looked up at them, pushing her hair out of her face. She looked at him for a moment with her violet eyes taking him in.

"Thanks, but I'm fine," she said as she stood up on her own. She crossed her arms and looked down at the group. "And you're supposed to be?" She asked.

"I'm Sora, he's Donald, that's Goofy, and he's X. We came to see how Hercules is doing," Sora answered, pointing to each member of the group. X gave a salute to her before looking away in disinterest. He didn't like the idea of hanging around down here any longer than necessary.

"You know Wonderboy?" the woman said almost in disbelief. X believed the name was familiar, but he didn't think he had ever actually met anyone named Hercules while here.

"Yeah, cause we're heroes, too!" Donald said puffing out his chest as he pointed to himself.

"Ya mean junior heroes, Donald," Goofy corrected chuckling a bit. Donald glared at him but no words were exchanged on the matter. X hadn't heard of this hero ranking before, but he definitely thought the trio deserved to be heroes. They had saved the worlds from Ansem already.

"Looks like we have a friend in common," the woman said uncrossing her arms, a hand resting on her hip. "Name's Megara. My friends call me Meg."

"So how's Herc?" Sora asked.

"Wonderboy? Well, he's duking it out at the Coliseum every day. You know, 'a hero's work is never done' and all that. He's ready to drop, but he keeps on fighting. Even Wonderboy has his limits, though. These opponents are bad news-special deliveries from Hades himself," Meg asnwered worry clearly showing in her voice. X frowned hearing the mention of Hades. He had only been in this world briefly, long enough for Terra to win a tournament, but he remembered the supposed God of the Underworld. And he was not impressed.

"Oh please no. Not that guy," X muttered.

"Hades!?" Donald asked jumping up. X was pleased to see he wasn't the only one who had a problem with this.

"Right. Lord of the Underworld. I was on my way to see him. Maybe I can get Hades to give Wonderboy a breather. If anything happens to that kid," Meg trailed off her eyes going to the side as her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Gawrsh, sounds like your more than just friends!" Goofy said. X shot him a glare, this was not a place for others to get involved. At least not in his opinion.

"Oh, uh, I mean," Meg said her face dusted with red.

"We'll go have a little talk with Hades. I'd hate for anything to happen to you on your way to see him," Sora said, saving Meg from having to explain herself. She looked at Sora with raised eyebrows.

"You really want to do that?" she asked.

"He does," X said. Meg smirked at the comment and nodded.

"Well, it looks like you know what you're doing. I guess I'll take you up on that offer. But, let's keep this whole chat-with-Hades thing our little secret, ok?" she asked leaning down a little as she placed a finger to her lips. X supposed she hadn't told Hercules she was going to be talking to Hades. Or hadn't said anything about knowing Hades.

"Our lips are sealed!" Sora promised. Meg chuckled before walking away, out of the Underworld.

Sora and Donald led the way deeper into the Underworld. X wasn't sure if they really knew where they were going, or if they were just winging it. X kept a dagger drawn and at his side. He didn't like the idea of wandering into Hades domain without being prepared. Hades himself wasn't much of a threat, but he could create some problems for them if he really wanted to.

They entered a long pathway that seemed to lead further down into the earth. A thin layer of white smoke hung over the ground and things constantly seemed to be moving in the corner of their eyes. Small wisps of light floated around, seeming like forgotten souls.

Sora gasped as a man cloaked in black ran past them. The group came to a halt looking where the man had vanished. He had been running too quickly for X to have gotten a good look at him. It left X unsure what they were going to walk into.

"The Organization!" Donald said. Sora nodded.

"Yeah," he drew his keyblade before following after the cloaked figure. X brought his other dagger to his hand and followed Sora deeper into the Underworld. The next section of the area appeared empty. X glanced to the side just in time to see the Organization member run out of a tunnel at the group.

"Run! Run away!" the member yelled as he ran past the group into a dark corridor and out of the Underworld. X stared blankly where the dark corridor had been. He glanced to the others, who were all staring a similar manner.

"Ok...?" Sora said looking around at the others. X shrugged.

"That was the least threatening member of the Organization I've ever seen," X said. Sora chuckled a little before once again leading them through the Underworld.

They soon found themselves at the edge of a throne room like room. They stood against the wall in the doorway, watching the room. Hades stood beside a swirling portal with a man dressed in red with a large sword on his back. A giant cat-like creature X was certain he should recognize stood pressed up against a wall looking on in horror.

"Let's cut to the chase. Here's the deal I'm gonna offer you. I let you out of the slammer- no strings- you'll be free as a bird. And all for one little job. Fight Hercules, in the Coliseum, to the death!" Hades said, his hands moving rapidly as he spoke. The dark-haired man stared at him for a moment as if considering the offer. His grip on his sword tightened as he came to a decision.

"This is my story. And you're not a part of it," he said, lifting his sword off his back and pointing it at Hades.

"I like this guy," X said to himself. Sora glanced at him for a moment before looking back to Hades and the dark-haired man.

"Did you forget who you're talking to? I am the Lord of the Dead!" Hades yelled in anger.

"No wonder no one wants to die," the man replied calmly. X snickered to himself.

"Now I really like him," X said.

"You are FIRED!" Hades yelled as he turned from his usual blue color to bright red, even the flames on the top of his head. He charged at the man, who easily held him back with his sword. Sora took the opportunity to run into the room, keyblade drawn. X and the other two followed him their own weapons at the ready.

"Hades!" Donald yelled. Hades glared at the group his skin returning to blue.

"You again?" he asked. His eyes landed on X and narrowed even farther. "Not you," he said angrily. X smirked at him.

"The feeling is mutual," X said spinning a dagger in his hand. The dark-haired man pushed Hades back from him taking advantage of Hades clear distraction.

"Fight!" he said.

Attempting to heed his words they began to fight. But X noticed within moments there was no way they could win this fight. Sora's swings were slow, Donald's magic was at half power at best, and Goofy was hardly strong enough to put any power behind his shield. X seemed to be the only one not having any problems. His blows were just as fast and just as strong. Though it seemed to do little against a god in his own kingdom.

"Something's wrong!" Donald said watching a weak thunder spell spark across the area.

"I feel kinda funny," Sora said, swaying a little on his feet. X came to his side, pushing him to a solid stance. Sora took a moment to get his feet underneath him, then shot a grateful look to X.

"That's right! See, that's the thing. In the Underworld, heroes are zeroes-comes with the territory," Hades said smirking. He brought a ball of blue flames to his hand and went to charge at the group. The dark-haired man jumped in front of them blocking Hades with his sword.

"Go now!" he ordered.

"But we've gotta talk to Hades!" Sora said.

"What was that?" Hades asked his fingers in his ears. X glowered at the god, behaving like a child. X shook his head tugging on Sora's sleeve.

"I wouldn't say he's inclined to listen," he said. "You can't fight him, and I can only do so much."

"We have to go- now!" the dark-haired man insisted. Sora looked at Hades frowning before he turned and ran out of the chamber they were in. Donald and Goofy followed him without any further objection. X and the dark-haired man brought up the rear keeping an eye on Hades who didn't make to follow them right away, which was odd.

The group came to a stop some distance away panting heavily. Sora leaned over with his hands on his knees looking the direction they had come from. X followed his gaze letting out a relieved breath. Hades was still yet to follow them.

"Is he gone?" Donald asked.

"Don't count on it," the dark-haired man said.

"Huh?"

No sooner had he spoken then Hades appeared leaning on the side of the wall, inspecting the long nails on his hand.

"Leaving so soon?" Hades asked.

The group did not answer and instead took off running again. This time it seemed the Heartless were aiding Hades. At every opportunity, they were attacked by groups of Heartless and sometimes Hades joined in the fight as well. X managed as many of the Heartless as he could, sending them away with silent orders, but he had never really mastered the art of only needing hand signals or glares.

They managed once again to escape Hades, but X suspected it was short lived. Sora glanced around where they had stopped, his eyes eventually falling on the man who had been helping them. He had managed to keep up the entire time, and even do more than Sora seemed capable of at the moment.

"You're really good. Are you some kind of hero?" Sora asked. The man shook his head slowly.

"No, I'm no hero. I'm just an," the man trailed off. Sora tilted his head looking at the man with curiosity.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Auron," the man said suddenly. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other in question. Sora shrugged then glanced to X. X sighed heavily and turned to the man.

"Nice to meet you Auron. I'm X," he said with a small salute, his usual greeting.

"I'm Sora," Sora said practically jumping to be beside X. He stumbled when Donald jumped up on his shoulders.

"Donald." Goofy also seemed to think it was appropriate to jump on Sora's shoulders, making Sora stumble yet again.

"Goofy!"

Sora held them up for a moment before the group collapsed onto the ground. X stared down at them blankly. He sighed heavily before hiding his face in his hand.

"It seems we were fated to meet. Maybe you need a guardian," Auron said. Donald and Goofy got up off of Sora. Sora stood himself, brushing the dust off his clothes as he did so.

"Guardian? Thanks, but no thanks. That's what X is for, kinda," Sora said turning to X for confirmation. X looked at Sora before turning to Auron.

"Do you want them?" X asked.

"Hey!" Sora and Donald yelled in unison. X chuckled holding up his hands.

"Joking. Just joking," X said. Sora glared at him for a moment before grinning and laughing himself. Donald didn't seem as convinced and crossed his arms walking away from X. Goofy followed soon after and X followed him dropping his hands with a frown. Auron chuckled behind them before he too followed Sora toward the exit.

Reaching the exit, however, they were met with another problem.

"What? It's closed!" Donald yelled. Sora, Donald, and Goofy pulled at the door trying to pry it open.

"Come on, open!" Sora said as he pulled fruitlessly on the door. X took a step back to look up at the door. Clearly, you were not supposed to be able to open it with ease. It was the door out of hell, making it easy to open would defeat the purpose. Looking up X saw a keyhole clearly etched into the door. It couldn't really be that easy, could it?

"Keylock," X said pointing towards the keyhole. Sora stepped back looking up at the lock. He summoned his keyblade to his hand and looked down at it thoughtfully. His blue eyes hardened as he looked back up at the door.

"Will that open it?" Auron asked.

"Yeah. I think so," Sora said.

"It will," X said looking over his shoulder. It was weird they hadn't had many problems since they had reached the door. Hades wasn't one to just give up. His eyes widened when he heard a roar echo through the caverns loud enough to shake the ground.

"Hurry!" Auron yelled as he stepped forward to guard Sora's back. X stepped forward as Sora raised his keyblade to unlock the door. In front of them, the creature that had roared appeared. It was a giant dog with three heads and glowing red eyes. It snarled as it jumped at them, long white teeth similar in size to Auron's sword beared. X jumped to the side allowing Auron the chance to block the attack. X quickly gripped the dog's short fur and threw himself up onto the dogs back.

X did his best to slow the dog from where he was. He didn't know when, but at one point Sora joined the fight, helping him and Auron subdue the dog. X had a strong feeling if Y had caught him in this fight she would not have been happy. She would have wanted to reason with the dog first.

X slid off the dogs back as it collapsed onto the ground. He brushed himself off glancing to both Sora and Auron, both looked significantly worse off than him, but they had been in the range of its teeth and claws.

"Come on!" Donald yelled drawing their attention. They ran through the gates out of the Underworld as the dog got back to its feet. Sora, Donald, and Goofy made faces at the dog through the closing doors. X sighed heavily shaking his head.

"Whew," Sora said turning away from the door.

"Huh?" Donald said looking around.

"What happened to Auron?" Goofy asked. X glanced around, seeing, in fact, Auron was nowhere in sight. X looked back at the doors. Hades had seemed to be pulling Auron from somewhere. Maybe he wasn't able to leave the Underworld.

"He can take care of himself. Let's go find Meg. Then we can try this again," Sora said walking towards the stairs that led up to the Coliseum. X frowned but followed the other three.

Reaching the Coliseum X looked around. It hadn't changed that much from the last time he had been here. He dared say it was the same. The same statues and charts. The names might have been different, but X didn't know. He wasn't going to take the time to check.

"Gawrsh, this sure does bring back memories!" Goofy said happily. X's frown deepened. It certainly did bring back memories. And not the good type. He remembered Terra falling deeper into his lies and Hades almost tricking him to use the darkness. He remembered a threat against Hades with confidence he no longer had. Powers he couldn't use anymore.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a man exiting the arena. He was tall and well muscled with ginger-colored hair and blue eyes. He wore a sort of armor that was actually pretty common in the world.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy! When'd you get here?" the man asked with a smile.

"Hey, Herc!" Sora greeted.

"Hi!" Donald said with a wave.

"Howdy there!" Goofy said.

"You on another adventure?" Herc asked wiping his hands off.

"Yeah, trackin' down some friends, wipin' out some Heartless," Sora said putting his hands behind his head with a broad grin.

"Junior heroes, always busy!" Herc said with a laugh.

"You know it!" Sora agreed. They shared a laugh before walking into the foyer area of the Coliseum. It, like everything else, looked almost exactly the same as it did before. X hung back from the group listening but not partaking in the actual conversation.

"So, did you find those friends of yours?" Herc asked.

"Still working on it. When we got here we ran into Meg-meg-mega trouble, I mean! So we had to help somebody out. We tried to go teach Hades a thing or two...but the Underworld drains away all our strength. Don't suppose you have any ideas?" Sora asked. X was grateful he managed to pull off that save on his own. Though if anyone had been paying attention it would have been clear that Sora was bad at lying.

"Well, there is a stone that guards against the Underworld's curse. The gods on Mount Olympus use it whenever they have to go down there," Herc explained.

"Think we could use it?" Sora asked.

"Sure, why not! I'll go get it for you," Herc said with a shrug.

"Thanks!" Donald said.

"Real nice of you!" Goofy said.

"But Hades is no pushover, even if you've got the Olympus Stone. And I have a match today, so I can't go with you," Herc said, worrying crossing his face as he tapped his chin. "Know what you need? Training! Why don't you go talk to Phil?" he suggested. X hardly thought they would need training, Sora was fairly skilled. Even for having almost no formal training.

"Hey, good idea!" Sora said brightly.

Herc took the group to Phil, who turned out to be a small Satyr for training. X decided to sit out, only watching Sora run around the arena to destroy barrels in a set time limit. Herc stood off to the side with X watching for a moment, casting X sideways glances a few times.

"I feel like I've seen you before," Herc said suddenly. X didn't cast him a glance, his eyes still following Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"Hm, weird," X said. "I mean, I have been here before. But that was a long time ago." He knew what the likely reason for the familiarity was. Y had been here too, and when you met one, you seemed to think you knew them both.

"Really? How long?" Herc asked.

"Whatever happened to that Zack kid?" X asked instead of answering. Herc whistled to himself.

"Whoa, that is a long time ago," Herc said. He didn't say anything else for a short moment. X wasn't sure if it was because he was lost in thought or if it was him waiting for X to say something. "Don't know, he just disappeared," Herc finally said.

"Too bad, that kid was something," X said. He remembered the way he had set Terra back on the right track with a few words. Back away from where X had been leading him.

"Yeah. You know, you look a lot like a friend of mine," Herc commented. X chuckled.

"I suppose you mean Y?" X asked. He chuckled as he heard a shocked intake of breath from Herc. "Twin sister," X explained. Herc chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, I guess I should have guessed," he said. X only shrugged. It seemed Herc knew that was all X would say for the day and left to find the stone like he had promised he would.

X continued to passively watch Sora train, occasionally calling out advice when Sora fumbled on a task. Sora always took the advice without questioning it too much. Occasionally he would ask for more explanation since X would give vague advice such as 'hit harder' or 'that was not right' but regardless he tried to listen to X's advice.

Sora paused in his training when he saw Herc return, banishing his keyblade away. He approached Herc with a weary smile, apparently a little worn out from all the training. X suspected in about ten minutes he would regain his energy and be bouncing all over the place again.

"Sorry, guys. The Olympus Stone has been stolen," Herc said as the group gathered around him.

"What!?" Sora and Donald both shouted jumping back.

"By who?" Goofy asked.

"We don't know who did it yet. All we're sure of is it was a guy in a black hooded cloak. And he had accomplices-a bunch of creatures in white," Herc explained. X frowned standing up and joining them as the group exchanged a look and nodded. "Someone you know?" Herc asked.

"I think so," Sora said. "Hey, if we get the Olympus Stone back, can we borrow it for a while?" he asked.

"Sure. By the way, you haven't seen Meg around, have you?" Herc asked. They all shook their heads. In fact, X couldn't remember seeing the woman since they met her in the Underworld. "Oh, ok," he said looking down.

"What's wrong, your hero-ness? Feeling under the weather?" Hades appeared in a cloud of dark smoke placing a hand on Herc's shoulder. Herc ducked away from the god, turning to face him with raised fists. "You know, I thought staying in perfect shape was part of the hero job description, you know what I'm saying?" Hades continued unphased by Herc's reaction to his presence.

"Oh right," Sora said seeming to remember something. He stepped forward looking up at Hades. "Hades, we gotta talk!" Hades only reply was to flick Sora in the head and send him stumbling backward.

"I came to share a bit of mildly interesting news:" Hades said as Herc tried to sneak up behind him. He teleported behind Herc as Herc threw a punch, sending the hero off balance. "Seems your dear, sweet little Nutmeg went and got herself lost in the Underworld."

"You mean you kidnapped her!" Herc said taking a step toward Hades. Hades shrugged.

"Well, maybe," Hades admitted. "But why get caught up in the details?"

Herc whistled calling to him a white horse with a blue mane and large white wings. He went to mount the pegasus, and X assumed go after Meg, but Hades seemed to have predicted that much already.

"Uh-uh-uh! You can't leave now, ok?" Hades said. Herc stopped and glared at Hades. "You've got a very important match today against, um, the bloodthirsty Hydra! I mean, if you don't stick around, who knows what kind of "accidents" might happen." Hades went on. X assumed this Hydra was some sort of monster of this world. At least he hoped as much and it wasn't the Heartless of the same name. That could complicate things quickly.

"Yeah, accidents you cause," Sora said angrily.

"Like I said: details, who needs 'em?" Hades said with a shrug.

"You're just a coward," Herc said. Hades once again only shrugged in reply, the words clearly not bothering him at all.

"Ah well. Can't all be heroes," he said before vanishing in a puff of black smoke. X frowned looking at the group. They had few options here. Either leave Meg to Hades, or leave the Coliseum to an angry Hydra.

"Can you handle this?" Herc asked looking at Sora.

"You got it! We're heroes!" Donald said.

"Junior heroes, Donald." Goofy corrected.

"You take care of the Hydra. We'll handle the rest," Sora said.

"I'm counting on you," Herc said. The group nodded and without further word found themselves back at the entrance of the Underworld.

Inside the entrance, they found Phil on the ground looking like he had just been in some kind of fight. Sora ran over to him with Donald and Goofy on his tail.

"Phil!" Sora said. Phil groaned as he pushed himself up looking at the group with heavy eyes. "What happened?" Sora asked.

"I spotted this strange guy all dressed in black. I chased after him, but he turned on me. Next thing I know I'm seeing stars," Phil explained. X frowned looking around. The Organization seemed to have weird goals in this world. Stealing a stone they wouldn't even need and causing mayhem for the inhabitants.

"All dressed in black!?" Donald said in shock.

"He's the one who stole the Olympus Stone," Sora said.

"Where did he run off to?" Goofy asked Phil.

"To the Underworld. He's a bad apple, all right. And all I wanted was to find a backup hero. Just in case Herc needed to take a break," Phil said. X frowned, chasing random strangers was hardly a way to find heroes.

"Heroes, eh? You could've just asked!" Sora said puffing up his chest.

"You know someone!?" Phil asked hopefully. Sora and Donald both pulled out their weapons. Phil looked at them in disbelief and shook his head. "Oh, good one," he said.

X held Donald back while Sora and Goofy sent Phil back up to the mortal side of things. After Phil was gone they made their way into the Underworld caverns searching for the man in black. They fought Heartless as they went, though it was harder than it should have been for Sora, Donald, and Goofy. X found himself taking out a great number of the Heartless they encountered.

They soon found themselves in an open area with the Organization XIII member right in front of them. As they drew their weapons the Organization member turned to face them. He jumped back in surprise, almost cowering away from them.

"Huh? Ah! You!" Though his hood was still up covering his face it was clear where he had his attention focused. X could feel the gaze from his companions shift to him. The hooded figure took a moment to look around relaxing as he took off his hood. He had blonde hair cut in a mullet and blue eyes. "Wait a sec, Roxas?" he asked looking at Sora.

"Excuse me?" Sora said lowering his keyblade in confusion.

"Roxas?" the Organization member X realized was Demyx asked. "Oh, it's no use," he said when Sora only continued to look at him blankly.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Sora asked. Demyx ignored him and pulled a note card out from his pocket. X remembered Axel claiming Demyx was hopeless many times, but he hadn't thought he was this hopeless.

"Let's see, here. 'If subject fails to respond, use aggression to liberate his true disposition'. Right. Did they ever pick the wrong guy for this one," Demyx said putting the notecard back into his pocket and looking away.

"You're bizarre," Sora said slowly watching Demyx. Demyx ignored Sora pulling the Olympus stone from his other pocket and twirling it between his fingers.

"He's gotta be the thief!" Goofy said pointing to the stone.

"Now that's just plain rude!" Demyx said putting a hand on his hips as he leaned forward.

"Don't like being called out?" X asked with a smirk. Demyx stepped back and held up the Olympus stone. A light came off of the stone and covered him in what seemed like a protective barrier. He summoned his weapon to his hand, a stringed instrument of some kind X wasn't familiar with and played a series of notes.

"Dance, water! Dance!" Demyx called. As he did several water clones rose from the ground and launched at Sora and the rest of the group. Fortunately, the water clones didn't seem to be that large of a threat. In a few hits, they exploded into a fine mist thoroughly soaking whoever was the one to defeat them. The problem seemed to be in the number of them. But together it took a minute or so to destroy all the clones Demyx sent after them. "Not bad, Roxas!" Demyx said smirking. His smirk dropped as he gripped his shoulder. "Roxas, come back to us!" he pleaded as he vanished. X frowned glancing at Sora.

"Guy's a broken record," Sora said crossing his arms.

"Hey look!" Donald said pointing to the ground. Sora walked over and picked up the small flat stone marked with a cloud and thunderbolt. The same light that had covered Demyx covered them. From their reactions, X assumed they felt their power returning.

"Let's go! Meg needs our help!" Sora said, once again taking the lead as he led the way deeper into the Underworld.

Entering what had to be close to the deepest part of the Underworld they could get to the group was met with a rock with an image of Meg outlined upon it around a keyhole. Sora held up his keyblade and shot a beam of light at the keyhole. The rock broke apart as the energy pillar behind it changed from black to light green. X frowned, the placement seemed odd, and intentional in some way.

"Almost there," Sora said with a nod.

They entered the light and on the other side found Hades with Meg who was all chained up. Despite being caught Hades was laughing with an evil grin the unsettled X.

"Now that's what I call a key. Gee, thanks for your help! Now have a nice day," he said vanishing. Meg stumbled forward the cloth that had previously been covering her mouth fell to around her neck.

"Sora, behind you!" she said. Turning they saw the cat creature from earlier with a large group of Heartless beside him. X frowned trying to remember where he had seen him before. He blinked in shock when he realized it. Disney Town, all those years ago.

"This guy, seriously?" X asked. He had been nothing but an annoyance before, and it didn't look like he was going to be a major threat anytime soon. It amazed X the Heartless even listened to him.

"What's wrong? Can't fight in the Underworld? Ohh, boo-hoo-hoo!" the cat taunted. Tried as he could X could not remember what his name was.

"Better think again!" Soar said readying his key. The cat looked between the Heartless and Sora, worry clear across his face. He had been banking on their inability to fight. And now that was ruined for him.

"Charge!" the cat ordered before backing away quickly to avoid fighting himself.

The Heartless charged at the group and the fight began. Once again it seemed the enemies themselves weren't much of a problem, but the sheer numbers of them quickly wore the group down.

"There's too many!" Sora said.

"Let's go!" Donald responded motioning towards the door. Sora nodded and broke the chains on Meg with his key. Before they could run, Pegasus arrived carrying Herc on his back. Herc jumped down and knocked the cat back with a punch.

"Sorry I'm late," he said. He whistled, calling down Pegasus who had been circling above them. As the winged horse landed it kicked the back of the cat's head knocking him to the ground again. Herc lifted Meg up onto Pegasus' back and patted the horses side. "Get Meg out of here. I'll meet you back at the Coliseum," he said.

"What about you?" Sora asked.

"I'm gonna show these guys what happens when you mess with a true hero," Herc said with a smile. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran into the pillar of light as the cat got to his feet. X stayed beside Herc spinning his daggers in his hands. Herc cast him a glance but didn't say anything.

"Now, wait a sec!" the cat objected. He went to chase after Sora and the others but Herc and X jumped in his way, occupying him with a fight. X did his best to keep the Heartless away while Herc fought the cat himself. The cat seemed to think it was acceptable to constantly be summoning more Heartless, an underhanded move in X's opinion.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy rejoined weapons drawn. The fight went much smoother with three other companions against the cat and his Heartless. The cat stumbled away from them, looking for an escape.

"This place gives me the creeps. I'll deal with you nitwits next time!" the cat said before running away. As he did so the cave shook beginning to collapse. The group ran for the pillar of light that led to their escape.

They raced through the Underworld to escape. There was really no reason, nothing was chasing them. They just clearly were tired of the dark gloomy place. They reached the entrance to find Hades waiting for them. X glared reaching for his daggers.

"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite hero washout. You really blew it this time," Hades said. X frowned, what on earth was this guy talking about? They had beat him. The cat had given up and run. There was nothing he could have done.

"No one likes a sore loser, Hades," Sora said.

"Can it, keyboy!" Hades snapped.

"Then let me," Herc said taking a step forward. "No one likes a sore loser, Hades."

"Yeah, yeah, Styx and stones," Hades said dismissively. "Hey, maybe you should go check on that Hydra you neglected to finish off. I hear things are really falling apart up there, champ," he said and vanished into smoke. X frowned looking up the stairs. If the Hydra hadn't really been beaten, what was it liked above ground?

"Wait!" Sora yelled.

"Hate to run, but I've got another little diversion to attend to," Hades voice said, though he was already long gone. The group exchanged a look before running to the Coliseum. When they got there they were greeted by a scene of chaos.

The Coliseum was in ruins with boulders still flying as the Hydra thrashed and hissed. X couldn't hear any screams, so he decided to take that as a good sign rather than a bad one.

"This can't be," Herc said falling to his knees. Phil, Pegasus, and Meg joined them as another boulder went flying. X thought this was hardly a time for a conversation but he didn't make the comment.

"Champ! You're safe!" Phil said shaking Herc.

"I failed," Herc said.

"It's not your fault!" Meg said quickly.

"I left everyone unprotected," Herc said he slammed his fist on the ground angrily. "Hades was right. I'm just a, a washout."

"In my experience, Hades is never right," X said softly. Phil nodded in X's direction.

"Come on, champ! I didn't train you to think like that," Phil said.

"Wonderboy," Meg said.

"Phil's right. There's no time to beat yourself up," Sora said. Herc shook his head.

"I'm some hero," he said. The ground shook as the Hydra pulled itself from the wreckage seeing the new targets to attack. Meg grabbed onto Herc and dragged him off to the side.

"Herc needs help!" Donald said turning to face the Hydra. Sora nodded turning as well.

"Yeah!"

"Don't suppose you've got room for one more?" Phil said joining them, preparing himself to fight. X appreciated the effort but he doubted things would work out with something as small as him trying to fight the Hydra. Meg and Pegasus also joined the group, Pegasus standing as if it would fight as well.

"We're in," Meg said strongly. X again thought the notion was kind enough, but he didn't think any of them were qualified to fight the Hydra with them.

X was soon proven right as the fight began. Phil stayed off to the side yelling bits of advice while Meg and Pegasus stayed near Herc being sure he didn't get hurt during the fight. X threw himself up onto the Hydra's back digging his daggers into one of the Hydra's neck.

"Get up on the Hydra's back!"

"Where does it look like I am!?" X yelled back. The Hydra lurched throwing X off its back and onto the ground. X groaned pushing himself up. He swore under his breath and rolled to the side as the Hydra stepped forward.

"Get up on the Hydra's back!"

X glared and jumped back up onto the Hydra retrieving his daggers that were still dug into the Hydra's neck. Sora was on another part of the Hydra, beating it with his keyblade. X was again amzed by the ability of the blunt weapon to cause such severe damage.

The Hydra soon fell leaving the group to rejoin Herc who was still sitting with his head hung low.

"I let you down. I'm just, no use," Herc said shaking his head again. Meg crouched beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault. Hey, even a god would be exhausted," she said. Herc only shook his head again.

"She's right. Give yourself a chance to rest," Sora said.

"There won't be any games for a while, anyway," Goofy said helpfully. X wasn't sure if it was actually helpful or if it only furthered Herc's guilt.

"Don't worry about Wonderboy here. I'll look after him," Meg said looking at the group. X smirked.

"Then he'll be in good hands," he said earning a soft smile from Meg.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, X, I owe you big time," Meg said.

"Hey, it's no big deal. Just let us know if Hades or the Heartless start acting up. We'll take care of it," Sora said.

"Yeah, that's what heroes are for!" Donald said. Meg laughed crossing her arms.

"When did you four make hero?" she asked. X chuckled.

"We didn't. Donald is making things up again," he said. Donald glared at X, but X ignored him.

"We have to hit the road," Sora said looking to his three companions. X nodded in agreement. They had spent plenty of time here and shown very little for it.

"Okay. Don't be strangers," Meg said.

"Gwarsh, I hope ya feel better soon, Hercules," Goofy said. Herc shrugged keeping his gaze down.

"Yeah," he said quietly.

"Phil?" Donald asked looking to the satyr.

"Oh, well, take care you guys! Stay a little longer next time. We got some serious training to catch up on," Phil said waving a finger at the group. Sora laughed a little and nodded.

"Well, time to go. Oh, I almost forgot," Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out the Olympus stone. Herc reached out to take the stone and Sora was dragged into his usual trance that signaled a gate was open. With a few more farewells the group was off, onto the next world.


	14. Chapter XIII

**Chapter XIII; Those Left Behind**

The sun hung low in the sky casting an orange glow to the sky. It wasn't low enough for the reds to come out. The reds were Y's favorite part of the sunset. She sat up in one of the taller trees the forest outside of town had to offer. Her eyes stared out into the orange sky her lips pressed together in a thin line. DiZ had been up to something strange, and she had of course been doing her best to help. But it was hard when she wasn't sure what he was planning. She didn't know what this object was supposed to even do. But she was certain it wasn't anything good. It seemed to be dangerous, but Y hadn't been able to convince him otherwise.

The calls of birds taking to the air took Y's attention back to the warmth of dying sunlight. She looked over the side of the branch she was perched on. She had been waiting for some time now. Riku had said he would send the person she wanted her way. But she wasn't sure he was keeping true to his word. She had been waiting for what seemed like forever. Maybe it was just her nerves.

Y was caught up in a torrent of thoughts once again. She wasn't sure this was a good idea. Not really. She had no guarantees that this would at all work like she wanted it to. Maybe she would find herself in a battle she couldn't win. Maybe she would lose a friend. Or worse. She was so lost in thought she almost didn't see the figure walking beneath her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes leaning to the side. She fell from the branch landing lightly on the soft forest floor. She smirked slightly at the figure. Though he wore a black cloak with his hood up, there was no mistaking who he was.

"You know, those ears aren't fooling anyone," Y said placing a hand on her hip. Mickey spun around his keyblade appearing in his hands in a flash of light. Y jumped back holding her hands in front of her. Mickey stared at her for a moment before slowly lowering his blade.

"Who are you?" Mickey asked. Y felt her heart clench, the smile on her face becoming very forced. She guessed it had been a very long time. And she was a very different person now.

"I'm a messenger," Y said simply lowering her hands. She clasped them together in front of her, her eyes lowering to the grass beneath her feet. "My Master wanted me to talk to you, since we both have a common goal."

"And what would that be?" Mickey asked.

"Stopping Organization XIII," Y said. Mickey frowned waiting for her to continue. Y let out another heavy breath forcing herself to look at Mickey. "You've seen Riku, right?" she asked tilting her head to the side. Mickey nodded.

"I have. His darkness has consumed him," Mickey said looking away. Y nodded. Riku didn't look himself, but he was already a step ahead of his master. He was still himself under it all. Y smiled at the thought. Terra would be proud of him.

"That is rather unfortunate," Y said keeping her smile. It was, but at the same time, he was growing so well, so quickly. "But he's got a good plan in place. He's going to lead Sora to the truth." Y said. She kept her eyes on Mickey, who was staring at the ground. He looked up at her in confusion.

"The truth?" Mickey asked. Y nodded.

"Yes, the truth about Roxas," she said. She looked away and rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know when exactly. We haven't spoken on exact details." She chuckled again and looked back at Mickey.

"What's this got to do with me?" Mickey asked. Y sighed turning away and pacing a few steps back.

"My master, he thinks that the Organization is after Kingdome Hearts, and he wants to be sure we're all on the same page," Y explained reaching out and pressing her hand into the bark of one of the trees.

"Kingdom Hearts? Do ya mean the place Ansem tried to open up?" Mickey asked. Y frowned and shook her head.

"No, not exactly," she said. She glanced over her shoulder at Mickey. He was clearly confused, his mouth slightly opened. She laughed a little and looked away again. "There are multiple versions, so to speak. That was the Heart of Worlds," she explained.

"Then, what version is the Organization after?" Mickey asked.

"The Heart of Men. A slightly more difficult version to summon, but the number of keyblade wielders as of late have actually made it much easier to assemble," she turned back to Mickey leaning against the tree, her hands behind her back.

"And this version, what does it look like?" Mickey asked.

"A heart-shaped moon," Y answered. She watched Mickey's face fall visibly. She smiled softly as he looked away to the ground. Maybe he really did remember what had happened to them.

"Oh no," he said softly.

"It's not that one," Y said. Mickey looked up at her in shock.

"Huh?" he asked. Y offered a smile and looked up to the sky. The reds were starting to appear. The bright orange was streaked with lines of red. Soon the moon would take to the sky.

"It's not blue," Y said. There was a slight pause between them. Y assumed Mickey was watching her waiting for her to explain herself. She didn't though. She wondered if they would be here long enough to see the first star. That would make this worth the effort.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Mickey asked. Y shrugged looking back down at him. She hoped maybe he would realize who she was. But she doubted it would happen at this point. Even with losing her heart she hadn't changed that much. Though she had changed more than X had.

"Good guess," Y said softly. She took in a steadying breath. Her chest was heavy, like a stone had taken the place of her heart. "If you combined the Heart of all Worlds and the Heart of all Men, then you'd get the true Kingdom Hearts. The one Xehanort tried to summon all those years ago," she explained. She didn't realize what she had said until it was too late. She looked away, her face flushing red.

"How, how do you know about that?" Mickey asked. He took a step towards Y. She felt her face grow warm. She shouldn't have said much past what DiZ had asked her too. The Organization was operating in a world that hung in the in-between like Castle Oblivion, and they were searching for Kingdom Hearts. Sora needed to be ready to fight them. He needed to be able to keep fighting no matter what they said. She had only covered one topic and was not looking like she would get much farther.

"Xehanort, he did a lot of damage," Y said simply. Mickey nodded and looked down for a moment. He looked back up at Y with a frown.

"You know hearing the name out of you, it really is kinda scary. You look a lot like an old friend of mine," Mickey said. Y smiled and nodded. He really did know.

"I know," Y said. Mickey looked up at her confused again.

"Huh?" Mickey asked.

"It really has been a long time hasn't it Mickey. What eleven years? Give or take a month or two," Y said. She looked away from him and rubbed the upper part of her arm. She glanced at Mickey out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at her with his mouth agape. Y guessed he really didn't know what happened to her. She didn't remember seeing him during the fight. But she had been focused on X.

"Y?" Mickey asked. Y nodded and looked back at him, still keeping her soft smile.

"The very same," she confirmed. She frowned as she looked down at herself. "Well, mostly."

"But, your brother, he-" Mickey said.

"Ripped my heart out of my chest," Y finished for him looking back up at Mickey. "Yeah. That he did," she said looking away.

"So you're," Mickey began trailing off quickly, looking away to the ground. Y didn't finish his thought for him this time. "You're not really human anymore," he said looking back at Y. Y nodded again.

"I'm a Heartless. Just like my brother," Y said. Mickey raised his keyblade again stepping back away from Y. His eyes hardened as he looked at her. Y supposed she should have watched her wording. After X had told her his story, she knew X and Mickey had not met on great terms on any occasion.

"Then, how do I know I can trust you?" Mickey asked. Y frowned and looked down. That was a good question. She knew it was one she should have expected, especially when she was so willing to admit what she was. She didn't have a good answer off hand. She knew she was the same, but she couldn't really prove it to him.

"Do I seem that different to you?" Y asked. Mickey looked at her in shock, lowering his keyblade.

"Well, no," Mickey said.

"When I saw X the first time. He was obviously different," Y said. He had seemed so strange and foreign. Like an entirely different person was in her brother's body. And she had brushed aside until it was too late to save him. "I knew there was something wrong with him. I get the feeling. If we change at all, you can always just kinda tell," she explained.

"Well, I hope you're right," Mickey said banishing his keyblade. "I'm going to trust you." Y smiled.

"Thanks," She said closing her eyes for a brief moment.

"So, what happened to the other three? Do you know?" Mickey asked. Y frowned and nodded looking down.

"Yeah. I think you know too," she said softly. Mickey frowned and looked down. Y could see his mind working in overdrive. It was probably the last thing he expected, one of his friends being a Heartless.

"I wish we had a way to save them," Mickey said before looking back to Y. "I've seen Aqua," he admitted. Y looked up quickly with wide eyes.

"You have?" Y asked.

"Uh-huh. When I was in the Realm of Darkness I saw her," Mickey answered. Y let out a soft breath and looked back down.

"I used to look all the time. I never found her there," Y said. X had once. It hadn't ended well for him. He had been hurt. And Aqua, well, Y didn't know. She had run before Y could get there.

"I'm sure she's ok. Aqua's got a strong light," Mickey said. Y nodded.

"Yeah. You're right," Y agreed. There were few who had as strong of a light as Aqua. "But I still want to save her. I want to save all of them," Y insisted, her fist tightening at her side.

"I'm sure we can one day," Mickey said.

"Right," Y said. "One day."

One day couldn't come soon enough.

Yuki paced the empty white room of Castle Oblivion her hands pulling at her hair as she held her eyes tightly closed holding in the tears the threatened to spill over. She didn't need to watch where she was going. She knew. She had paced the same path for what seemed like hours to her, dragging on and on as she fought a war within her own mind. She knew Naminé was watching her, but she couldn't be sure of from where anymore. She had lost track of which direction was which.

"I don't want to remember him. I don't, I don't," Yuki said shaking her head again as she walked.

"Yuki," Naminé said softly. She had watched Yuki pace for quite some time at this point, though this was the first she was speaking.

"Why is this so hard!? Why do I have to choose between them? They're both my friends, why do I have to tell Roxas he can't exist!? Why does it have to be Sora?" Yuki asked her voice steadily rising. She didn't expect an answer. No one could have an answer to such questions.

"Yuki, please," Naminé said stepping towards Yuki as she turned again to retread the same path.

"How am I supposed to do this!? Everything just falls apart every time! I lost my sister and Riku and Sora! Now I have to lose Roxas and Axel and Xion and X and Y! I'm going to lose you! What if I get them back and I just lose them again! What did I do to deserve this!? " Yuki asked, shouting at this point.

"Yuki!" Naminé said as loudly as she could muster. Yuki froze opening her eyes and looking in the direction of the blonde Nobody. She slowly lowered her gaze leaning back against the wall she stood beside.

"Sorry," Yuki said. She sighed as she slid down the wall leaning her head to look up at the ceiling. She pulled her knees tightly to her chest as she sat on the floor. "Sorry. I'm just tired of losing people," she said burying her face in her knees. Naminé sighed and walked over to Yuki sitting beside her on the wall.

"You haven't lost anyone yet," Naminé said softly.

"I haven't?" Yuki asked with a bitter chuckle. "It seems to me I've lost everyone," she said.

"As long as you remember them, you never lose them. And even if you forget, as long as the links of the chain of memories still exist in your heart, then you haven't lost them. Forgotten maybe, but not lost," Naminé said. Yuki frowned and looked at Naminé. She was looking at the ceiling of the room, her blue eyes not looking at Yuki. It looked like she was trying to remember something important herself.

"Forgotten but not lost?" Yuki asked. Naminé nodded.

"It's what Sora learned here," she said. Yuki frowned and looked away. Naminé hadn't said much on what Sora had done in the Castle. She rarely really acknowledged anything that had happened in this castle before she and Yuki had decided to hide here.

If Sora learned forgotten didn't mean lost, what else had he learned. Who had he forgotten? Did it really matter? How could you not lose something you had forgotten? Yuki reached into her pocket and pulled out the seashell. It was the same type of seashell Kairi used to bring home from the beach all the time. The kind she said one day she was going to turn into a lucky charm if she could find some that matched enough for her. She had brought Yuki a pure white one once. It would probably still be in Yuki's old room back on the island if she went to look for it.

Did Xion have some tie to Kairi too? Yuki frowned, everyone had forgotten Xion. But, if what Naminé said was true, then even if Yuki was the only one to remember her she wasn't lost. Was that some subtle clue they could save her?

"So what about Xion?" Yuki asked. Naminé tilted her head to the side looking at Yuki. Yuki chuckled and shook her head. "Right, everyone else forgot her," Yuki said.

"But you didn't?" Naminé asked. Yuki nodded.

"It's either that or I made her up. At this point, I'm sure that's in the cards," Yuki said. She wrapped her hand around the seashell, the only thing left of her. It was so strange to think the others could so easily dismiss her memories, lose them to the depths of their minds. Could that happen to any one of them?

"She was someone important to you?" Naminé asked. Yuki nodded.

"Yeah, one of my best friends. But she had to die for Sora to wake up too," she said. She sighed heavily pulling her knees as tightly as she could to her chest and lowering her head, her hair acting as a curtain that hid her from view. "This would be so much easier if I didn't remember Sora," she said. Then she could act. Then she could have taken his heart and saved Roxas like she had wanted to.

"If you didn't remember him, you would kill him, only to one day realize who he was and regret your actions," Naminé said. Yuki looked up at her slowly. "You would really lose everyone then."

"Is this a guess, or something you know?" Yuki asked, tilting her head slightly.

"A little of both," Naminé said. She gave Yuki a soft smile. Yuki sighed, finding herself smiling softly too. Naminé always seemed to know what to say. She knew how to calm Yuki's mind even better than her friends had been able to.

"Alright, what do I do then?" Yuki asked.

"What do you want to do?" Naminé asked. Yuki sighed and pushed herself to her feet.

"I want to save everyone. Roxas, Xion, you," she answered. She held her hand out to Naminé. Naminé took her hand slowly, her head tilted to the side curiously.

"Me?" Naminé asked. Yuki nodded as she pulled her to her feet.

"It's not a secret you're not going to be around much longer the way things are going. How do I save you? How do I save all of you?" Yuki asked. Naminé smiled softly her hands going behind her back.

"I think you know where to start," she said. Yuki sighed heavily, her hand running through her hair.

"Right. This whole queen thing," she said. Naminé nodded, causing Yuki to sigh heavily yet again. "Alright then, I guess it's back to work," she said turning to the center of the room. She called her keys to her hand. She felt more confident with them in her hands, more prepared to face whatever challenges she was presented with.

She had learned quickly how to manage the smaller Heartless. But with no teacher getting farther than that was proving to be very difficult. The last time she had tried with anything much bigger, well, it didn't end so well for the Heartless.

Naminé watched from the sidelines as Yuki called Phoenix to her. The great black and white bird settled on the floor its head lowered so it was eye level with Yuki. Yuki brushed her hand over its beak, smiling as it chirped at her. Yuki could understand what those chirps meant, though Naminé couldn't. It was a good starting place for Yuki, somewhere she knew she had control.

"One day, you'll have to come to terms with our fate," Naminé said softly. Yuki hadn't heard her, but that was alright. It wasn't something Yuki was ready to hear. "Because without Sora, you can't begin what must be done. Sora is the key, you have to accept that."


	15. Chapter XIV

**Chapter XIV; The Past Never Stays**

Castles seemed to be a common theme in every world they had been to. X looked around the gear-filled room, a place specifically meant for Gummi ship docking. It looked almost like it was overdone, more there than needed to be. The grind of the gears filled the room with more sound than necessary.

"So this is your castle," Sora said as he looked around. "Must be nice to be home, huh?" He asked turning back to Donald and Goofy. The two were looking around, their hands over their mouths. "Well," Sora prompted when they didn't answer him.

"You know, somethin' just don't feel quite right," Goofy said.

"Yeah," Donald agreed. X couldn't think what it was. This world seemed to be like any other. He could feel some kind of darkness, but compared to other worlds it actually seemed like a small amount. Not at all the usual. Was the world supposed to have even less darkness?

X was pulled from his thoughts by two chipmunks sliding down the railing to stand in front of the group on top of some kind of gear stack. They wore aprons and had spots of grease on their fur. It took X only a moment to recognize them. They had been the two he and Terra had met in the town. The ones who needed Unversed chased off the race track. He looked away, hoping they wouldn't recognize him. He didn't want to have to explain that.

"You're back!" the black nosed chipmunk said jumping up. X remembered he had been called Chip the last time he had been here. The only one whose name he really knew.

"Move it! Let's go!" the other chipmunk ordered motioning up the stairs to the rest of the castle.

"Queen Minnie needs to see you!" Chip explained.

"The castle's in danger! Hurry! To the library!" the other said.

He didn't need to say anything more to have the group rushing through the castle to the library following the two chipmunks. Inside the library was bright, like everything else in the castle. The walls were covered in bookshelves that reached the ceiling. They were needlessly tall. X had a feeling no one had been able to look at the books on the top shelves for a long time. A desk was in the center of the room and a dog bed as well. Beside the desk was the queen mouse, Queen Minnie as the chipmunks had said.

"Your Majesty! Queen Minnie! We're back!" Donald announced as they entered the room. She turned to them quickly, her hands pressing together in front of her.

"You're here!" she said happily.

"Your Royal Highness, did ya happen to summon us?" Goofy asked. Queen Minnie nodded.

"Yes," she said.

"Where's the King?" Sora asked putting his hands behind his head. X sighed heavily putting his hand in his face. Donald jumped up, grabbing Sora's ear and pulling him down closer to his level.

"Excuse him. This is our friend, Sora," Donald introduced. Sora brushed him off, managing to pull himself free of Donald's hold.

"Oh, Sora! The King told me all about you in his letters. He said you're a very brave young man," Queen Minnie said smiling at Sora. Sora smiled in return, rubbing his ear where Donald had grabbed it.

"So, do you know where he is?" Sora asked. Queen Minnie shook her head, lips pursed together in a frown. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all sighed slumping forward. X rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what to do next.

"Oh, we should introduce you to X too. He's our guide from Master Yen Sid," Goofy said looking up suddenly. X jumped a little looking at the group, who no longer looked so down, they were all looking at X now. He turned to Queen Minnie who smiled at him and chuckled.

"It's been a long time since you've come to visit," Queen Minnie said.

"Indeed it has your majesty," X said bowing slightly to the queen. He hadn't expected her to remember him. He had hardly spoken to her. In fact, he didn't think he had said anything to her. Only spoken to Terra. "I hope you forgive my intrusion again."

"You know the queen!?" Donald shouted jumping back from X. He nodded, cringing back from the excessive loudness.

"We met very briefly while a fri-" he paused for a moment before continuing. "While someone I knew was helping in the town."

"Whatever happened to those four? Mickey never seemed to know for sure," Queen Minnie asked.

"It's a long and difficult story. I think there are problems that must be addressed first," X said quickly motioning back to the other three with him. He could feel their eyes on him. The same looks he always managed to pull from them. Questions they won't ask out loud, though they certainly should.

"Your Majesty, what are the Heartless doing in your castle?" Donald asked.

"Oh my... So those are the Heartless," Queen Minnie said looking around. The room was empty of Heartless, but the castle must have been filled for her to call for help.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of 'em!" Sora said proudly, placing his hands behind his head as he grinned broadly. X was again struck with how much he seemed to be like Ventus. The similarities seemed only to be mounting the longer he knew Sora.

"I know I can count on you, Sora. Now, there's something I'd like all of you to come and see. Would you please escort me to the audience chamber?" Queen Minnie asked. The group all saluted, standing straighter than they had been previously. The queen laughed, but it quickly turned into a gasp. "I forgot to warn everyone else in the castle about the danger! We must be sure they're hidden somewhere safe!"

"Ok, we'll go tell them!" Sora said.

"The whole castle!?" Donald complained.

"We just gotta split up, Donald," Goofy said calmly.

"I'll make sure that everyone knows what's going on," Sora said. X sighed hiding his hand in his face. Great optimism, but not a great plan.

"Sora, if either of us tried that, we'd just get lost," X said earning Sora's attention. "We can stay with the queen while Donald and Goofy search the castle." He nodded at the two in question who both nodded in agreement.

"Good," Donald said.

"All righty then, see ya later!" Goofy said. He and Donald quickly left the room off to search the castle. X wasn't sure how long it would take, nor did he know how many people were in the castle. The town hadn't seemed to have all that many people in it, so the castle had to be similar.

"Um, the audience chamber, right, ma'am?" Sora asked. Queen Minnie nodded.

"Yes, Sora. Let's be on our way," she agreed.

The queen pointed the way for the most part. The castle was relatively straight forward, they had passed through the hall that led to the audience chamber, they had walked past the doors while going to the library. The halls were filled with Heartless, and all seemed intent on attacking the queen. Fortunately, unlike the other times X had to guide someone, the queen was capable of fighting on her own. Though she didn't fight as much as Sora and X did, her magic attacks were powerful enough to clear out Heartless from the immediate area.

They soon were in front of the doors to the audience chamber. X kept his back turned to the door watching for more Heartless as the queen and Sora opened the door. The Heartless were giving them a wide berth, kept back by X's glare.

"Just one moment," Queen Minnie said. There was a sound that X had learned was barrier magic of some kind being brought down. "As soon as the trouble started, I made sure to seal this room. Now then...shall we?" she asked. There was the sound of a door opening. X turned to see a small door opened in the bottom of a much larger door.

They entered the room slowly. X glanced around with a frown. The air felt heavy, like there was something else in the room with them. Glancing up, X froze calling his daggers to his hands. The queen and Sora both stopped looking back at him. Their eyes followed his and soon Sora had his keyblade in his hands.

"Not here, too!" Queen Minnie gasped, as she saw the Heartless descending from the ceiling.

"I got 'em," Sora said racing into the Heartless group. X stayed beside the queen, keeping the Heartless from doing her harm before she could show them whatever it was.

"Come on, gimme a break!" Sora complained from across the room. The queen was now at the throne, X standing at the foot of the steps that led up to it. Sora was surrounded by Heartless, clearly about to be overwhelmed. A sudden rumbling sound had X whipping his head around. The throne was receding back from its position. A strange glow was escaping from underneath it.

A bright flash of light burned X's eyes as he attempted to look away. The light vanished as quickly as it had appeared. When X opened his eyes the Heartless were all gone, the room completely empty. Sora stood looking around in awe.

"Whoa..." Sora said looking around as he joined X at the foot of the stairs.

"The room below is called the 'Hall of the Cornerstone.' Our castle has always been safe from worlds that are evil thanks to the Cornerstone of Light which we keep down there," Queen Minnie explained.

"The Cornerstone of Light?" X asked looking down the stairs in the floor. He had heard of that before, somewhere. A great power to have under your control, something that could ward off most of the smaller Heartless. That would easily explain why the queen seemed so surprised to see Heartless.

The queen led the way down to the Hall of the Cornerstone. X immediately saw what was wrong. The room, though bright, had dark thorns growing around the great glowing orb that had to be the Cornerstone. Minnie came to a halt not far from the Cornerstone waiting patiently for Donald and Goofy to arrive. When they did she began her explanation.

"This is the castles cherished Cornerstone. But look. The thorns, they must be the work of something very evil. I wonder what this could mean," she said. Before anyone could suggest an explanation a pillar of green flames appeared beside the Cornerstone. When the flames died down, the figure of Maleficent stood. X paled seeing the fairy, one he hadn't seen in some time. At least not where she could see him.

"Maleficent!" Donald said in shock.

"No way!" Sora gasped.

"You have got to be kidding me," X muttered under his breath. He seemed to be walking through a minefield of old acquaintances. And none of them seemed to be very helpful to him. Sooner or later Sora would suspect him. If not Sora one of the others.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? If it isn't the wretched Keyblade holder, and his pitiful lackeys!" Maleficent said. X felt her eyes land on him and narrow. A smirk spread across her face as she recognized him, X glared at her, hoping to keep her silent.

"What!? Now you're gonna deal with me!" Donald snapped. He jumped at Maleficent, but passed right through her. X frowned. She couldn't fully step foot here yet.

"All in good time. I promise you'll be able to partake of my vengeance. But you must be patient," Maleficent said, not turning her attention to Donald who was pushing himself up behind her.

"Just what are you doing here, Maleficent!?" Queen Minnie demanded, stepping forward her fist clenched in anger.

"Ah, Queen Minnie. Radiant as always," Maleficent said with a bow. The smirk plastered on her face suggested the bow was far from respectful, but X supposed he would expecting too much for respect from this fairy. "I'm here on a property venture. I want this castle for my own. However, it's a bit too 'bright' for what I have in mind. I suppose I'll just have to fill every room with my personal touch of darkness," she explained turning to the Cornerstone. She reached out to touch it but was unable to, her hand being pushed back by an invisible force.

"You'd better stop right now if you know what's good for you," Queen Minnie warned. Maleficent laughed.

"Ooh, how frightening. Very well. I'll stop...just as soon as the castle belongs to me!" She spread her arms out and was engulfed in her green flames. An evil cackle remained in the air as the fire faded leaving nothing to show she had been there.

"What a hag," Sora said as he crossed his arms. X chuckled looking away.

"Not my first choice description but I suppose that works too," he said turning back to Sora. Sora grinned back at X, seeming to catch on what he meant.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before. I looked through all the records in the library, but I couldn't find a single clue," Queen Minnie said worriedly. The group fell silent trying to decide what to do next.

"Ohhh! We should go ask somebody who knows lotsa stuff that ain't in any book!" Goofy said suddenly, pulling the others out of their thoughts. X wasn't certain who that meant. He was sure there were plenty of people who fit that bill.

"Merlin the wizard!" Donald suggested.

"Yes! That's perfect! Merlin just might know something about this mess. Let's ask his advice!" Queen Minnie agreed.

"We saw him in Hollow Bastion, right?" Goofy asked. Sora nodded.

"Yeah. Let's go," he said. X rubbed the back of his head. As fun as it sounded to go on another adventure to Hollow Bastion, it didn't seem like a good idea to leave the castle unattended. Too much was going wrong, and Maleficent wasn't likely to give up.

"I'm going to stay here and be sure nothing happens while you guys are gone," X said. Sora turned to X, thinking for just a moment. He smiled and nodded.

"Right, be sure to protect the queen," he said. X chuckled and saluted to Sora.

"On it."

Though he had said he would protect the queen X and the queen didn't leave the room at all, making it unnecessary to protect her. He could feel her casting him unsure looks every so often. Like she wanted to ask him something but for some reason was unable o say it. Likely, it was something about the ones who were gone now. X only leaned against the wall picking at the underside of his nails with his dagger.

Beside the Cornerstone, a puff of smoke appeared. X jumped hissing as his dagger sliced his finger. He quickly stuck the finger into his mouth sucking off the blood as he glared at the group who had just appeared. Merlin stood with the other three, Donald in mid-sentence.

"Perhaps I'd better just see for myself," Merlin said as he approached the Cornerstone. He paced around it, inspecting every inch as he did. X sighed joining the group, muttering a healing spell as he did. "Mm-hmm...interesting..." Merlin said.

"What's happening Merlin?" Queen Minnie asked.

"This is not good. In fact, I'm afraid, it's quite serious," Merlin said stepping back. He cleared his throat rolling up his sleeves. With a wave of his arms, a door appeared in front of him. It was a simple white door, with nothing but a grey fleur de lies on top in the molding.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"My boy, that is a gateway to a special world. Someone in that world is responsible for what's going on in this castle. Of that, I'm certain," Merlin explained turning to face Sora.

"Oh boy!" Donald said excitedly.

"Then we should go get him!" Sora said as he approached the door. He went to pull open the door, only to be stopped by Merlin.

"Wait a moment! The perpetrators must be stopped, of course. But there's something else to do first," he said gaining Sora's attention. Sora stopped with his hand on the handle looking over his shoulder at Merlin. "Somewhere in that world, there should be another door that's identical to this one. I believe our enemies are utilizing that door. As long as it remains open, the castle will be in grave danger. Listen carefully, Sora. You must find that door. And when you do-lock it with your keyblade," Merlin said while he had Sora's attention. Sora nodded in understanding.

"Got it," he said.

"You can count on us!" Donald said, giving a sort of salute to the older wizard.

"Now, one more thing. You're heading into a very special world. While you're there, the nature of that world may tempt you to do something dark. You must resist that temptation at all costs!" Merlin warned.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked tilting his head to the side. X frowned looking at the door with new interest. He hadn't thought much of the special nature of the door, but hearing that worried him. There could be something very dangerous through that door. Something he didn't want to face.

"You'll know soon enough. I have faith in you, my lads!" Merlin said. X shot Merlin a nervous glance before looking at Sora with an eyebrow raised. Sora didn't react, turning to the door and pulling it open. He stepped into the door, disappearing to the other side they couldn't see. Donald and Goofy followed him without a second thought. X stood at the edge of the door. He had a bad feeling about where this led, but seeing no other choice he took a deep breath and stepped through the door.

They landed in a pile on the other side of the door. X groaned as he pushed himself up. Luckily being the last one through meant he was not crushed under the other three. Looking around, he knew there was something wrong. Everything was monochrome, the color drained from everything. Looking down X saw his own hand seemed off.

"Hey, look! There's the Cornerstone of Light!" Goofy said. Looking up X saw the Cornerstone, sitting on a hill with nothing around it. Sora approached it looking at his hands and the world around him.

"What's going on? Everything's black and white," Sora pointed out. X glanced at Donald and Goofy, both of whom looked just as strange as Sora did.

"Hey, this is kinda like...um..oh..." Donald said trailing off as he tried to think of the word.

"Deja vu?" Goofy suggested.

"Yeah, that's it!" Donald agreed. X frowned as he continued to look around. Everything around them had changed, but they were still near the Cornerstone. Which should have been in the castle. Unless there was more than one Cornerstone. X dismissed the possibility, crossing his arms and tapping his chin.

"Really? Have you been here before?" Sora asked. X's frown deepened as he continued running through possibilities. It could have been an alternate reality, but that was a long shot. There had to be an explanation. His eyes widened as he reached his conclusion, though it was as crazy as everything else he had thought of.

"It's a door to the past," he muttered. He glanced up to the group looking to see if they had drawn the same conclusion, or even if they had just heard him. They instead were focused on the appearance of a cat wearing overalls. The cat was large, much like the one they had fought previously. In fact, with all the strange things that were happening to them, it had the possibility of being the same person.

"Hey, you! Seen any bad guys around here?" the cat asked approaching them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all pointed toward the cat. X gave a heavy sigh and shook his head.

"Why I oughta..." the cat said rolling up his sleeves as if about to pick a fight. X prepared to move, regardless of if this was an enemy or not he couldn't let Sora be attacked. "Bah! I don't have time to waste on punks like you! So, I guess I'll go easy on ya!" he decided, turning and walking away from them towards what was likely the water.

"Well, there's our villain," Sora said, turning to Donald and Goofy. X frowned.

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions. Let's just see what he's up to," X suggested. The group went to the docks, easily locating the cat again. They were easily spotted by the cat, who was quickly angered.

"What's with you squirts? You got some kinda bone to pick with me?" the cat snapped turning on them.

"More than one!" Sora snapped back, waving his fist. X deadpanned at Sora.

"Them's fighting words!" the cat said pulling back his fists. X tried to step between the two. There was no need for a fight.

"Ok, no need for that. Sora, I thought we discussed jumping to conclusions." X said shooting Sora a glare. Sora frowned and stepped back. There was a sharp whistle gaining the attention of the group. X wasn't too familiar with boats, but his brief memory suggested the whistle might have had something to do with a boat.

"Huh?" the cat said jumping to his feet. He turned to go back toward the hill they had been on but was stopped by the trio. X sighed heavily as they drew their weapons.

It was only a few moments before a full fight broke out. X attempted several times to get the groups attention, but it was not working well. Sighing heavily he crossed his arms and tapped his foot. He had already called Sora's name several times, insulted Donald and Goofy, and called out their very obvious attack patterns. None of which seemed to stop them.

"I'm just the guy Yen Sid sent to keep you in line. Not like my word means anything," X muttered to himself, still waiting for the fight to end. Maybe he should step in, get in between them. Of course, that might make it seem to them that he was siding with the bad guy, which he didn't want.

Before he could make a decision the fight ended. The cat was on the ground glaring up at the trio.

"What's you punks' beef with me anyway? Hmm, who are ya? You new around here?" the cat asked holding himself up with his arms. Sora spun his keyblade and pointed it down at the cat.

"Cut the act," Sora said. In the distance, they heard the whistle again. The cat cried in shock and tried to get up, quickly falling over again as his back seemed to give out. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all frowned at the action.

"You know, somethin' doesn't seem quite right, here. Are you sure you're Pete?" Goofy asked. X made a mental note that the cat finally had been given a name. It had been getting annoying not really knowing what was going on. X would have to have Jiminey fill him in on everything later. He was missing too many details.

"Well, of course I'm Pete. I'm the captain of the steamboat. So stop botherin' me, see?" Pete complained waving his fist at them. His back gave a loud snap causing him to collapse onto the ground again. He didn't stop in his rant, however, and propped himself up. "So hit the road! I gotta go find the little runt what stole my boat!"

"Gawrsh, maybe we made a mistake," Goofy said turning to the group, his hand covering his mouth as if to keep Pete from hearing him.

"I'm starting to think the same thing. He hasn't even called any Heartless," Sora whispered in agreement. X sighed and rolled his eyes.

"That's what I tried telling you from the start," he said. Sora looked at him with a pout nodding slowly. Usually, he would have listened to X. But it seemed he had decided not to for some reason. X didn't think Sora had reason to disregard what he was saying. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe Sora was starting to add the pieces together and realize X was not exactly who he claimed to be. X pushed down the thought, Sora would have said something then, he wasn't subtle.

"Sorry we attacked ya like that, Capt'n Pete," Goofy said turning back to Pete, who had finally managed to bring himself back to his feet. He huffed crossing his arms.

"Oh yeah? Well, if you're really sorry, then go find my steamboat," Pete demanded.

"Y-yes, sir!" Sora agreed.

"Not a problem," X said calmly. They turned away going back to the hill the Cornerstone rested on. Behind them, X heard Pete complaining about his back as he went toward the docks. The group formed a small circle beside the Cornerstone. Sora frowned his arms crossed.

"I thought for sure Pete was the bad guy," Sora said.

"Aw, that would be too easy," Donald said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Donald's right," X said, words he never thought he'd say, as he looked over his shoulder at the Cornerstone to be sure it was still there. "Nothing is ever as simple as it first seems."

"C'mon, fellas. Let's try to find that steamboat," Goofy said. Sora sighed dropping his arms.

"I guess we did say we would..." he said trailing off.

"Hey, we've got a door to find!" Donald said putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh, yeah!" Sora said jumping up.

"So we multi-task," X said simply, motioning with one hand while the other rested on his hip. Donald ignored him, looking around the immediate area. X rolled his eyes dropping his arm.

"I don't see any doors," Donald said.

"Huh? What's this?" Sora asked. X glanced over to see Sora in front of a window of sorts with a curtain hanging over it making it seem like a stage. This really wouldn't have been so strange if it hadn't been floating in mid-air. "I can't see a thing." He reached out and pulled on a drawstring beside the window. X flinched, almost certain the window was about to explode. He was surprised when all that happened was the curtains parting.

The window played a short video. X didn't catch all of it in great detail as he stood trying to look over Sora's shoulder, which required a long time on the tip of his toes. But he saw a set of doors and Heartless, followed by what looked like them being spit out by the white door Merlin had created.

"What was that?" Sora asked as the curtains closed.

"Heartless goin' out," Goofy said.

"And us, coming in," Donald finished.

"What does it mean?" Sora asked. Donald reached up and pulled on the string again, but nothing happened this time. A one time only deal then. X glanced over his shoulder surprised to see a set of doors was now behind them. He tapped Sora's shoulder and nodded at the doors.

"Let's get rid of those Heartless!" Sora said.

"Then what'll we do?" Goofy asked.

"We'll worry about that later!" Sora said leading the way into the first door.

The first door led to a construction site of some kind. Heartless seemed to be wreaking havoc. A small thin mouse seemed to be the only one trying to fight off the Heartless. Or perhaps he was the only one who couldn't escape. It took X a moment to realize that the mouse was the King they were searching for. And he only realized because the other three made several remarks.

It took only a few moments to get rid of all the Heartless. After they were all gone Mickey ran up to Sora and wrung his hand quickly, shaking Sora's entire arm. Mickey then preceded to run off and wave to them before disappearing. X blinked a few times staring where the King had vanished. He had to have missed something.

Before X could ask he heard the sounds of another set of curtains opening. Looking back X saw Sora and the other two in front of another window. X didn't see any of the video it showed, which X suspected was some kind of memory, but he heard both Maleficent and Pete. It sounded like some kind of argument.

The group returned to Cornerstone hill scratching their heads at the current situation.

"What-?" Sora asked. He stopped seeming to realize he had no idea what he wanted to ask. There were far too many questions.

"Somebody sure was angry," Goofy said.

"I don't understand," Donald said.

"Does anyone?" X asked.

"Let's just try to clear out the Heartless first. This place is ok, but we've got three more spots to check," he said, turning to the other three doors.

The next door led to a mini town they had to protect from the Heartless with the help of the same Mickey as before. Completing the task was easy and soon Mickey was wringing Sora's hand and running away again. They again saw a window and were shown some kind of memory. This memory showed a door very much like the one Merlin created appearing before Pete.

They had a short conversation trying to piece together what they could, but it was clear without more they wouldn't really have a chance of figuring things out. They continued through to the next door, which led to a building on fire. They took out the Heartless there and saved the building. Mickey once again helped them and ran off as soon as the job was done. Once again they saw a memory, this one of Maleficent being shown the door by Pete.

"Maleficent!" Donald said in shock.

"She must have known all along!" Sora said.

"Let's see...if that door's connected to the past..." Goofy said looking at his hands as he tried to figure things out. X frowned. He had already mentioned that they were likely in the past, but it seemed they had ignored that small detail.

"No, no, no! It comes here," Donald said, shaking his head.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Then that means we're in the past!" Goofy said.

"Are you guys just not listening to me today?" X asked.

"Wow. If we're in the past," Sora said looking between Donald and Goofy.

"We can change the future!" Donald finished excitedly. X sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Yup, not listening," X said to himself.

"Hold on, fellas! Remeber what Merlin said? He's got faith in us. And we have to resist temptation no matter what!" Goofy said. Donald turned away crossing his arms.

"Aw, I was only joking," he said.

"Who'd want to change the future anyway?" Sora asked. He turned away putting his hands behind his head. X looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Sora smiled briefly catching sight of his look before dropping his arms and returning to the matter at hand. "So, what are we gonna do?"

"Doors, bad guys. Gawrsh, my brain hurts!" Goofy said, putting his head in his hand for emphasis.

"Well, we know we're on the right track!" Donald said.

There was one more door they had to go through. This time it was stopping Mickey and everything else in the room from being swallowed by a black hole that was for some ungodly reason in the middle of the room all while fighting off Heartless. After finishing the task and Mickey giving his usual goodbye they were able to see the last memory, which revealed Maleficent had ordered Pete to destroy the Cornerstone, and Pete deciding to steal his own boat from the past version of himself.

"It was Pete after all!" Sora said.

"Why, he tricked us!" Donald said angrily. X frowned crossing his arms.

"I'm not so sure about that," he said. The Pete they had met seemed to be looking for a bost that was missing. Perhaps stolen by the future version of himself. X rubbed his temple in annoyance. Time travel was a headache.

"Still, something doesn't seem right," Goofy said.

"Hmm, the Pete we met here had kind of an attitude, but he didn't seem like a bad guy," Sora said crossing his arms behind his head again. X nodded in agreement.

"Look!" Donald said suddenly pointing. Standing by the path to the waterway was Pete, who looked much more like the version they were used to.

"Now that castle's as good as ours!" Pete said with a laugh before disappearing down the path. X frowned. Why did he still look the same?

"That's the Pete we know!" Sora said.

"Bad, bad, bad!" Donald agreed.

"Oh no!" Goofy said pointing to the Cornerstone. Or, where the Cornerstone had been. The hill was now empty, no sign of the light orb that had been there only seconds before.

"The Cornerstone's gone!" Sora cried in shock. X looked from the waterway path to where the Cornerstone had been and back again. This repeated a few times as his mind raced.

"How did we miss that?" X asked.

"But that means," Donald said. His voice trailed off as he seemed to realize what that meant.

"They're gonna fill the castle with darkness! We gotta hurry!" Goofy said.

The group ran to the waterway. They encountered Pete, but this was the same one they had met earlier. Or at least it looked like the same one. X was no longer sure what was going on in this world.

"Hey, hold it right there!" Sora ordered drawing his keyblade.

"No way, small fry! I finally found the pipsqueak what stole my steamboat!" Pete snapped back.

"Yeah! It was you!" Donald said pointing to Pete.

"Right, me!" Pete agreed, pointing at himself. It took him a moment to realize he had made a mistake. "No! NO! It wasn't me! It's just somebody who looks like me!" he insisted, waving his arms. He turned his back on them and went to the water. Sora sighed in exasperation dropping his arms.

"Aw, which is it!?" he asked. With no answer to give X led the way to the waterway. There they found a scene that was enough to confuse them even more, which was seeming to become a challenge. Pete was fighting himself for the steamboat, which had the Cornerstone on a raft behind it.

"The Cornerstone!" Donald yelled.

"After him!" Sora shouted.

"You mugs couldn't follow me if you wanted to!" the Pete of their time yelled as he directed the steamboat downstream. "Later, losers!"

The group quickly began to launch magic at the boat to slow it down and deflected projectiles that Pete threw at them. They managed to knock open the cage holding the Cornerstone, which stopped the entire boat. Pete jumped from the boat and took off running.

"The Cornerstone!" Donald said.

"Donald, we'll come back for it later!" Sora said watching where Pete had run off.

"Pete's heading for the doorway!" Goofy said.

"I'll stand guard over it," X offered. Donald seemed to accept that and the trio chased after Pete.

It wasn't long until they returned, the door locked. X stood back as they apologized to the other Pete. In return Pete allowed them to pilot the boat closer to the Cornerstone hill, where they returned the Cornerstone to.

"I betcha the castle's safe now," Goofy said as they stood back to look at their handy work.

"Guess we should head back," Sora said.

"Wait! As long as we're here," Donald said. He turned to head away from the hill into a town X assumed wasn't too far away.

"Donald!" Sora, X, and Goofy said in unison. Donald stopped in his tracks looking between the three as they drew closer to him.

"Huh? What? No, no, no!"

Sora grabbed onto the back of Donald's shirt and dragged him to the door. He threw Donald through the open door and followed after. X cast one last look around before following Sora back.

They returned back to the castle and with just one look around X could see things were back to normal. At least all the thorns were all gone.

"Welcome back! Because of your bravery, the castle is safe and protected again. Thank you so much for all you've done!" the Queen said clapping her hands together with a bright smile.

"Good work, you guys!" Chip and Dale said jumping up and down.

"Now boys, I hope you didn't do anything reckless while you were there?" Merlin asked crossing his arms. His eyes landed on Donald in a knowing way that made X snicker.

"Of course not!" Donald insisted. Sora and Goofy chuckled while X only snickered again.

A female duck like Donald entered the room. X watched as they had an interaction but he didn't pay it much mind. Only enough to learn the female duck was named Daisy and was someone special to Donald. Though Donald was in trouble with her. While she was chasing Donald around the room Sora performed the lock on the world, opening the gate to the next world.

"Daisy, we need Donald for just a little longer," Sora said, stopping her as Donald hid behind Sora.

"How much longer?" Daisy asked crossing her arms.

"Um, well," Sora said scratching the back of his head.

"I'll be back soon Daisy!" Donald promised coming out of his hiding place.

"Don't you worry, Queen Minnie. We'll return," goofy promised, saluting to the queen.

"Please tell the King that we're still looking for him!" Sora said as they turned to the door.

"I will!" Queen Minnie said.

"See you soon!" Chip and Dale said waving. X guessed they'd see the two of them for something about the Gummi ship sooner or later.

"Think wisely!" Merlin cautioned.

The group finished their goodbyes before heading back to the Gummi ship docks. X fell a little behind the group his hands in his pockets as he watched them walk in front of him. They were laughing and talking, already telling the story of the world they had just seen. Sora loved to recount his journey's almost as soon as they happened. He made mental note to ask him about his journey before this one, the one that started everything for him. That would probably be something Sora would be proud to tell.

Sora and the group suddenly halted, making X almost run into them. Peaking around Sora X saw Chip and Dale panting in front of them, their arms waving to keep their attention.

"Sora! Come quick!" Chip yelled.

"Something bad has happened!" Dale said jumping into the air.

"To the Hall of the Cornerstone! Hurry!" Chip said before he ran off. The group exchanged a quick glance among them before following the chipmunks to the room they had just left. The Queen was nowhere to be seen, probably handling royal matters at this point thinking the trouble had passed.

Beside the Cornerstone was a strange black portal, much like a dark corridor. X slowly approached it the others hanging back. He pushed his hand against it, easily slipping through the dark smoke. The other side had some sort of wind, but X couldn't tell much else as he turned back to the group.

"Look! The Cornerstone of Light! Before you know it, it'll be surrounded!" Chip said.

"I think it could lead somewhere, but..." Dale trailed off. X assumed they didn't want to risk seeing where it led. And he couldn't blame them. He had a bad feeling about what was waiting for them on the other side.

"Do ya think it's connected to that door to the past?" Goofy asked.

"It could be a trap by Organization XIII," Donald suggested. Sora frowned crossing his arms.

"Either way, we should probably check it out," he said. He glanced up to X who nodded and motioned to the black portal.

The group stepped through the portal and were greeted by a gust of wind. X turned, shielding his eyes. The portal closed behind them, blocking off their return. X held back his urge to swear. Turning back he saw the cracked ground that spread out before them. His head snapped around as the others stepped forward looking around.

"Where are we?" Sora asked. A gust of wind engulfed the group in a cloud of dust, their arms coming up to cover their eyes. When the dust was gone they lowered their arms, finding themselves face to face with something they had never seen.

Kneeling on the ground was a suit of armor a large keyblade stabbed into the ground. The armor was bronze and red, the wearers face blocked by a pane of black glass. A cape hung behind him, moving in the gentle wind.

X froze in his tracks, eyes wide and all colored drained from his face. He stepped back, stumbling back from the familiar armor. Armor he knew all too well. His mind whirled with memories that haunted him, practically screaming over top one another.

I'm not sure what that means, but I don't think it's that big of a deal.

Alright, we'll fix that.

Hop on, we'll stick together.

Well, what's your dream?

I assure you, though a dark creature X is not evil.

You know it was wrong, and you want to change it.

Do you ever regret accepting the darkness?

What do you think X?

Nothing. Just asked me to give you up.

I know.

What? X! Why are you doing this!?

The creaking haunting voice echoing out of the armor startled X out of his thoughts. He didn't know when, but he had fallen to his knees, his three new companions standing in front of him with weapons drawn as if to protect him.

"Aqua...Ven...Y..." the voice scratched against the armor, harsh like dust pelting the metal in the never-ending wind storms. Even so, it was still the exact same as X remembered it. "A keyblade...Who are you...? I can feel it. We've met before. When- No...It isn't you...You're not the one I chose...Why are you not him? Xe...ha...nort-Is that you? Xeha...nort...Xehanort!" The armor pushed itself to its feet pulling its keyblade from the ground. It launched at Sora with a type of fury X had never seen.

He was too much in shock to make any move to help. But it was clear Sora was at the disadvantage. The Lingering Will was hitting him with everything he had. Using the keyblade glider X had sat on the back of many times to run over Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Transforming the keyblade into a canon of sorts that crossed the wasteland easily. It was chaos, and the heroes were losing.

X shook his head forcing himself to his feet. He swayed unsteadily, unable to truly find his footing. He was lucky, the Lingering Will hadn't seemed to notice him yet. It was focused on Sora, who wasn't who it thought he should be.

"This isn't good," X muttered as he watched Sora get thrown into Donald. He could see bruises and a flash of bright red that made his stomach turn. X turned his head away focusing on the armor that was preparing another attack. X swallowed down the bile that had crept up his throat and whistled loudly. "Terra!" The armor stopped and turned to face X slowly, though there were no eyes, X could feel a burning glare from the helmet. "They're not Xehanort. Nothing to do with him."

"You...traitor," the Lingering Will said stepping towards X.

"Yup, that's me, the traitor," X said holding his arms out to the side, showing he was unarmed like he always was when he dared approached the Lingering Will. "Now leave those three alone, it's me you're mad at." He took a step forward, ignoring the looks from Sora and the others. He kept his eyes even, looking at all that was left of who had once been his friend.

"I trusted you... Y..." the Lingering Will said taking another step toward X. The keyblade in his hand shook, from anger or something else X didn't know. And he didn't care. He deserved whatever it was.

"I know," X said softly looking down to the cracked ground. "I know," he repeated. "Come on, give it your best shot."

X didn't move when the armor shot at him. He made no move to defend himself from the harsh blows. His daggers remained hidden away. Rolling across the ground he tasted blood in his mouth, felt it running down his arms and sides. The same place Aqua had hit him the last time they had met. He still didn't move, laying limp on the ground. He stared at the sky waiting for the next blow, that one would surely knock him unconscious. But it never came.

The harsh sound of metal on metal had X glancing up, his vision blurry. Sora was holding back the Lingering Will, pressing their keyblades together. X was covered in a green light as Donald and Goofy joined Sora. He felt his bleeding slow and eventually stop, but the bitter metallic taste lingered.

Sora fought with new vigor, managing to push the Lingering Will back away from X, eventually back to the place he had knelt. The armor stopped staring at Sora, who looked still ready to strike at any moment.

"That's it. Your power," the metallic voice said. "That's what I felt within you." The Lingering Will stabbed its key back into the ground kneeling down again. X slowly pushed himself back to his feet as a dust storm returned and took the Lingering Will away, back to the place it had rested before. The dust storm engulfed the entire group, their eyes closed, but they did not see only blackness.

There was a dark sky with a heart-shaped moon. Four figures in armor fought against a trio, not nearly as armored. There was a flash of each in the armor falling, and the armor they had just fought stabbing its key into the ground. Memories X had hoped to never have to see. The things he had run from.

When they opened their eyes again they were back in the Hall of the Cornerstone. X stumbled a little, bile rising in his throat as he saw the few bloody cuts Sora had. He forced himself to look away and find his footing.

"What, was that?" Sora asked looking to X.

"A long story," X responded.

"You have a lot of those, don't you?" Sora asked softly. X nodded.

"More than I can count," he said.

"So, why don't you tell us that one?" Sora asked taking a step toward X. The blonde boy stepped back quickly, keeping the distance between them. He couldn't force himself to look up. All the words he tried to form died in his throat.

It was a mistake. He was a fool. He was sorry. He was so, so, sorry. That was where everything went wrong. That was why Sora had to fight. He had started it. He shouldn't have been so stupid. He hadn't meant to do it. He was wrong. And he was sorry.

"I can't. Please, just don't ask," X pleaded. Sora nodded looking over his shoulder back to where the portal had been. It was gone now.

"Well, if you can't tell us that one, can you tell us about the Organization? You know them, right?" Sora asked looking back to X.

"I know of them," he confirmed.

"You knew the one in Beast's Castle before Beast said his name," Sora said softly. X was surprised he had noticed, but he held back the comment. "And the one in Hollow Bastion called you a traitor and you agreed. The one in Olympus Coliseum knew you too." Sora listed off. His voice was soft, and far from accusatory. He was only a curious child. But each question struck X in his chest, where his heart was.

"He wasn't wrong, the one in Hollow Bastion," he said. Traitor. That's all he was. Every time. He was a traitor to everyone who mattered. And even those who didn't. It was his nature, to turn on the one who he stood beside.

"If you don't want to tell us that, can you maybe tell us how you knew some of the people we've met. Like Belle, and the Queen. Or Hades?" Sora asked. He was filled with questions. All questions X couldn't stand. Questions that reminded him he was a monster. All the things he had done wrong.

"It's all part of one very long story that Master Yen Sid doesn't think you need to know yet," X said. His gaze was still firmly planted on the ground. He refused to look at Sora. He would break then. He would say everything he didn't want to yet. And lose his ability to help.

"C'mon X, can't you just tell us?" Sora asked. "We're your friends, you can trust us." X held back a laugh.

"Sora, I don't trust anyone."

"What about yourself?" Goofy asked. X scoffed at that.

"Myself least of all," he said. He shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets walking away from the group. "I get it. Trust is a two-way street. I think you guys can manage on your own. I'll see ya around, maybe."

He didn't give them time to respond. He quickly exited the room leaving the group in a state of confused silence. Sora was the first to break out of it, running up the stairs back into the throne room. X was out of sight, despite the immense size of the room.

"How'd he get away so fast?" Sora asked looking around in silent awe.


	16. Chapter XV

**Chapter XV; The Time For Secrets**

Yuki did her best to keep her breathing steady as she hid behind numerous crates at the port. She crouched down carefully listening. She hadn't known what she had walked into, but just from a guess, she knew it was nothing good. The very strange cat-like humanoid was obviously not from this world, not when everyone in this world looked fairly normal. Though it did remind her of all the old pirate tales they had told on Destiny Islands.

Yuki crept to the edge of the crate she hid behind, peaking around the corner. The cat was standing, talking to a man who looked to be some kind of captain. A group of other men, probably his crew, were gathered around listening as well.

"Aztec treasure, eh?" the cats asked.

"Aye! And thanks to the curse put on it, we are neither among the livin' nor the dead," the captain explained. Yuki frowned trying to move to a better position to see. The group looked fairly normal to her. Nothing stood out that made them seem like dead men walking.

"Really? 'Cause ya look like regular pirates to me," the cat said. Yuki wasn't sure how she felt about the cat thinking the same way. But at the very least she was likely to hear some kind of explanation.

"Ah, but in the moonlight," the captain said looking up to the sky. The clouds parted allowing a shaft of moonlight to fall onto the pirates. Yuki held back a gasp seeing the skeletal form spread among their ranks, something worthy of Halloween Town. Yuki pulled herself back to behind the crate, pressing her back into it.

"Whoa! Now I get what you were sayin'. Well if you see two doofuses and a brat holdin' a keyblade, steer clear. They got a kinda magic that don't belong in this world, see? And nobody knows what it'd do to ya. 'Specially when the moons showing whatcha really are," the cat said. Yuki frowned looking down at her own hand. Two others with a kid holding a key. That had to be Sora and his companions. This cat was their enemy. And he knew they would be a problem here. Maybe they would be able to defeat this pirate and his crew.

"A match for Barbossa, you say?" the pirate captain said.

"Hey!"

Yuki jumped in shock, quickly looking around the crate. Sora was now standing not far from the cat and Barbosa. His two friends, the ones that looked like animals, were behind him. All had their weapons drawn and at the ready. Yuki frowned. The group was too small. They were missing one member.

"See there? I knew it! Those are the punks I was tellin' ya about!" the cat yelled pointing to Sora.

"Who are you calling punks? It's Sora, Donald, and Goofy to you! And don't you forget it!" he said back, holding his keyblade off to the side.

"That we won't. And we'll engrave it on your tombstone, to be sure," Barbosa said.

"Whoa! I like your style," the cat said looking to Barbosa in shock. Barbosa ignored the compliment turning to his crew.

"Men-half of you stay here and indulge these cullies. The rest-bring me that medallion!" he ordered.

"Aye!" the crew agreed before splitting as directed. Yuki raised from her crouched position as she saw a group head towards the town. She didn't imagine that was something good. She glanced back to Sora, maybe they'd be able to handle it on their own. But then, she wasn't sure they would be able to figure out that magic was the only option.

"Aw, we only get to stomp on a few of you?" Sora said as he looked at the group in front of him. Barbosa laughed as the fight began.

It became clear soon that Sora was at the disadvantage. He and his companions barely did any damage to the pirates, no matter what they tried. Yuki gave a heavy sigh looking up to the sky. AS much as she wanted to go save the town, she needed to be sure Sora was safe. Kairi would kill her if she let something happen to Sora. And Riku probably would too.

"It's no use! We can't beat them!" Sora said.

"Aye, whaddya expect? You'd best be sayin' your prayers!" a voice Yuki didn't recognize said. She assumed it was one of the pirates they were battling. Yuki took a few steps back from the crates she was behind then ran at them. She pushed her herself off the ground and threw herself over the crates. She summoned Kingdom Keeper to her hand taking aim at the group of pirates.

"Fira!" she called out. A blast of fire shot from her key landing in the middle of the skeletal pirates as she skidded to a halt beside Sora. He was smiling brightly, his blue eyes practically glowing. Yuki glanced at him flashing a smile before looking back to the pirates that were regrouping. "Little birdy says magic hurts them."

"Yuki!" Sora said.

"We'll talk later, first we have more important things to worry about," Yuki said, raising Kingdom Keeper again. She didn't give Sora the chance to argue with her before she launched at the pirates, muttering spells under her breath.

The battle ended much faster now that they were aware of their strategy. Yuki was saved from having to use magic by Donald stepping up and casting spells. Sora too was using any spell he could think of. Yuki stuck with attacking the pirates while they were in the moonlight and weak. When all the pirates had been defeated the group turned on the cat.

"Hey! This ain't over!" the cat said before he turned and ran away, not even offering a fight. Yuki frowned watching him go.

"If Pete's here, that must mean we have work to do," Sora said. Yuki turned her attention back to Sora.

"Yep. And that pirate captain looked pretty mean, too," Goofy said.

"Man, I'd hate to see him turn into a Heartless," Sora said crossing his arms behind his head. Yuki's frown deepened. That pirate had a strong darkness, she hadn't even needed to look to know that. If he became a Heartless he would at the very least be one of the stronger low ranks.

"He wouldn't be a pleasant one, that's for sure," Yuki muttered.

"Well, we are here," Donald said. He seemed reluctant to help, which seemed weird to Yuki. This world was in trouble, wasn't it their job to save it?

"Hey, maybe we can take a pirate ship out for a spin!" Sora said. Donald and Goofy both looked at him with wide eyes. Yuki chuckled covering her mouth with her hand. Sora had always loved pirate stories. It was his favorite game to play when they were children. He and Riku would be pirates and Kairi was a mermaid. Yuki usually had been the bad pirate they fought that had kidnapped the mermaid from them, or the mermaid's guardian. It really depended on her mood that day.

Sora chuckled seeing the shocked looks he received from Donald and Goofy. He looked away sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Just kidding!" he said.

"No, you weren't," Yuki said calmly. Sora frowned turning to Yuki with his hands on his hips.

"Hey! Who's side are you on?" he asked. Yuki only laughed in response. Sora smiled and dropped his arms. Yuki stopped her laughter and looked up at him, their eyes meeting. Their eyes still looked the same.

"You're Sora's friend right?"

Yuki jumped, turning to look at Goofy who had asked the question. She had forgotten they were there for a second. He and Donald were both looking at her in interest. She guessed they had only just seen her the last time they had met. In Hollow Bastion against the Behemoth.

"Um, yeah. I guess," she answered.

"You guess?" Sora echoed. Yuki pretended she couldn't hear him. That wasn't something she wanted to argue at the moment. Though, Sora likely wouldn't argue. Only pout until he got his way, which was effective enough.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Goofy, and this is Donald," Goofy said motioning to Donald who puffed up proudly at his mention. Yuki smiled briefly at the pair.

"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Yuki, though I'm sure you already knew that," she said brushing her hair back from her face.

"What are you doing here? Last I saw you were in Hollow Bastion," Sora asked, getting Yuki's attention back on him.

"You aren't the only world traveler you know," Yuki said grinning. She looked around taking in the port. She hadn't seen much of this world, but she knew it wouldn't do for her goal. "I'm looking around for a safe place. I'm not fond of our current hideout. It scares Nami."

"Nami? Who's that?" Sora asked. Yuki flinched slightly. She hadn't meant to let Naminé's name slip, though it really wasn't much of a problem. She hadn't even said her full name.

"She's, like my little sister," Yuki explained.

"But isn't Kairi your little sister?" Sora asked.

"I can have more than one sister you know!" Yuki said, putting her hands on her hips. She grinned as Sora sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and laughed. She dropped her arms and smiled softly. "I met Nami over the past year, and I just really want to help her."

"So where have you been? Just traveling around since you left?" Sora asked, his head tilting to the side. Yuki pursed her lips together and looked away.

"That's kind of a long story," she said softly. A long story seemed to be an understatement. But saying more would only make Sora question more. Sora frowned, his eyes filling with thought. His gaze was cast to the ground, and it seemed like he had some memory surfacing.

"Can't you tell us?" Sora asked.

"Eventually, but right now I'm still trying to figure out how all of the pieces line up. A lot has happened over the last year," Yuki said. She turned to look back at Sora. His frown only seemed to deepen, his gaze searching Yuki as if he'd find some sort of answer by only looking at her. Without thinking, Yuki put her left hand behind her back.

"Well, yeah. But you've been gone for so much longer," Sora said. Yuki shrugged half-heartedly.

"Wasn't awake for most of it," she admitted. "I've only been up for the past year, and I didn't remember you until you woke up."

"You forgot me!?" Sora asked. Yuki flinched from the sudden volume increase. Sora gave an apologetic smile that Yuki returned.

"If it makes you feel better I forgot everything else too," Yuki admitted remembering the days she really didn't seem to know anything. It was miracle X hadn't strangled her for all her stupid questions. Or the other Heartless she had asked. "And, didn't you forget me?" Yuki asked, shaking her head to clear the thoughts. Sora looked away sadly.

"Yeah," he admitted. Yuki smiled softly before glancing around the port again. She glanced back at the group. Once again she realized the group was too small. Last she had seen there was one more member.

"Weird question. Where's X? I know he was with you," she asked. Sora looked up at her quickly with wide eyes.

"You know X!?" he asked. Yuki nodded and brushed her hair back out of her face again.

"Yup. We're pretty good friends," she said. Sora looked to Donald and Goofy, both shrugged their shoulders in response. Yuki frowned, had X just vanished on them? That seemed like a very X thing to do.

"Well, he was keeping secrets from us. And whenever we asked he'd just brush it off. He knew Organization XII, and a lot of others," Sora explained looking back at Yuki. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"So?"

"He left the group when we asked about it," Sora said. Yuki chuckled, much to the surprise of Sora and the other two. They all exchanged a look before turning to Yuki for an explanation.

"Well, I suppose that's better than his reaction when I asked. I've never been more scared of someone in my life," she said.

"He did something to you?" Sora asked. Yuki shook her head quickly. X rarely got violent. He was actually peaceful underneath all of his teasing and sarcasm that seemed to want to start fights.

"No, just got really angry," she said. She walked a little ways away from them looking up at the sky that was streaked with clouds that blocked the stars from view. There was enough moonlight to be of use. They could still see and if those pirates came back they could fight. X had always liked night time best. But that was a commonality among the Heartless. Even Y seemed to love the stars. But X found night the most calming of them all. "X has a lot of secrets, but he's not a bad guy. He's actually the nicest person I've ever met, under all the sarcasm and sass," Yuki said turning to look back at Sora again.

"Really?" Sora asked.

"When I woke up, I couldn't remember anything," Yuki said with a soft smile. "X is one of the ones who really helped me out. He taught me a lot of things and made sure I stayed out of trouble."

"But, everything he was hiding," Sora began.

"We all have secrets Sora," Yuki said, cutting him off. The mark on the back of her hand seemed to grow hot. She fought her urge to look down at it. "And most the time, we keep them not because we don't trust the other person, but because we're ashamed of ourselves. I don't know what all happened in X's past. But I know he regrets a lot of it. He probably didn't want you to judge him for what he's done."

"Do you have secrets?" Sora asked.

"Yup. But I'll tell you them another time. When we're all together again, so I don't have to explain more than once," Yuki said smiling again. She glanced around her eyes going to the moon. She looked towards the town. The pirates had gone that way, looking for some kind of medallion. They could have caused a lot of damage. "You guys should probably get going. Those pirates could have caused a lot of damage by now. I shouldn't have kept you," she said looking back to the group. Sora frowned, realizing she wasn't going to stay with them.

Yuki turned to leave them and find a secure place to open a dark corridor. This world had certainly failed the test. She'd have to find somewhere else after checking up on Naminé.

"Wait, one more question," Sora said suddenly. Yuki looked over her shoulder at him, meeting his familiar blue eyes.

"Alright, make it quick," she said.

"Who's Roxas?"

Yuki felt her breath catch. It took all she had not to show it, her eyes locking on the familiar blue shade of Sora's eyes. His eyes. She slowly smiled and closed her eyes with a chuckle that burned her throat as it left.

"That's a secret."

The streets of Twilight Town were too crowded. X frowned keeping his head down, his eyes focused on the ground. The people around him chattered endlessly. Exchanging news and stories. The town was filled with legends. X smirked as he heard of the clock tower ghosts. Shadows that could be seen at the top of the clock tower during the sunset, almost every day at one point. But now they were gone. Maybe X would go up there to keep the myth alive.

He didn't know what had drawn him to Twilight Town. It was the first place he could think to go though. Hollow Bastion was out of the question, and so was the Mysterious Tower. He couldn't admit to the Master he had left Sora. He shouldn't have abandoned Sora, he should have stayed and told the truth. But he couldn't. If he had, Sora would have turned on him. Just like everyone should.

X flinched as a group of children yelled running past. He needed to clear his head. If only just for a minute. He needed to get away from people. From the hearts all around filled with a blinding light. He ducked through the hole in the wall leading out to the forest. He took in a deep breath with his eyes closed. The fresh air was familiar, like the forest in his own home. He opened his eyes and frowned going toward the mansion that awaited at the edge of the forest.

That had been the place Yuki had slept. He knew that much. He had known for a long time. Since the day she had collapsed in front of the mansion. He had reported it to Tayressa, and she had confirmed his suspicions. He should have known then they needed to leave them. They were always only tools to those around them, and he couldn't allow that any longer.

X stopped, staring at the gates. He had never entered the mansion before. With a snap, he opened a dark corridor into the front lawn. He stepped through and glanced around. Ivy grew up the broken pillars. It wasn't anything special. He waved his hand over the corridor closing it as he walked to the door.

He was surprised there was no lock on the door. He slipped inside the door taking in the destroyed entryway. He held back a snicker seeing a unicorn carved up onto the wall. It was repeated a few times. He rolled his eyes shaking his head. Unicorns weren't really that interesting to him. Bad associations he supposed. He paced up to a broken display case, his hand resting on the middle of his back.

When X glanced up again he saw a man on the second floor between the two sets of stairs. He wore all red, his face wrapped in a red bandage, only showing one golden yellow eye. X frowned locking eyes with the stranger.

"It seems there were far more of your kind than I ever anticipated. What brings you here, creature of the darkness?" the man said. His voice carried a thick accent, one X wasn't sure what to call. He looked away from the old man, dropping his hand.

"Curiosity," X answered glancing over the doorway at the unicorn carvings again. "I never knew what they kept in this old manor. Definitely didn't think it would be some old dude. Hoping for something more interesting."

"Like what? Surely you had a goal in mind," the man said. His eye was narrowed at X. He was waiting for something to happen. Perhaps expecting X to attack and interrogate him. X didn't see a purpose in that. This man didn't seem to have anything interesting. X was certain he had never even heard of someone like this man.

"Not really," X said turning back to the man. "Most I have in mind is stop Organization XIII, but I haven't really gotten much past that. Sora is well on his way to beating them, but I feel like there should be a backup plan." He watched the expression on the mans face slowly change from anger to something much like curiosity.

"And why fight the Organization. Surely your kind have allied themselves with them," the man said. X frowned.

"Heartless don't ally themselves with anyone. We're creatures of pure instinct after all. And Nobodies are natural enemies," he said calmly.

"But you elites function with a higher purpose. You think and plan," the man said. X nodded in admittance chuckling softly. They certainly did seem to think and plan.

"I guess, but underneath all that thinking and planning, we're still just creatures of instinct. And we pick the strongest side to fight on," he said. Glancing back at the man again he saw the curious expression had grown. No one ever stopped to think much about the behavior of their enemies. That always was what led to their fall in the end.

"And which side is that?" the man asked.

"Unfortunately, not yours. Not Sora's either. It's theirs if I had to place a bet," X said. He didn't need to specify who was 'theirs'. They had an army in a sense. All the lost hearts that had become Nobodies, though not strong enough to retain a sense of self. Not to mention the Heartless that desired the freedom, desired to take hearts.

"Then why not ally yourself to them?" the man asked.

"We're creatures of instinct," X repeated. The man nodded simply. "And that's why I could never fight for someone I hate. I'd rather drown." The man looked down at X in surprise. Hate was an emotion he shouldn't have. But he did. He had every emotion he shouldn't have. Because they all did, underneath their fear and anger and loss. They were still human.

"Interesting," the man said. "And what of the queen? If her choice was to aid the Nobodies, would you follow?" he asked. X laughed, running his nad through his hair and pulling his bangs away from his face.

"We only have to listen when she's looking. What she doesn't know won't hurt her," he said. He remembered being the monarch. Before Y had joined him in oblivion. The Heartless had listened to him easily. He had never told them to go against their nature. But Yuki would order them to stop, to remain docile. It would never work. They would disobey the moment her guard was down.

"Then what use is a queen?" the man asked.

"I think you're mistaken. The queen isn't someone who can control us all. She's someone you don't mess with. It's a hierarchy, and she's the biggest bully on the playground. All you have to do to beat her is have a stronger will than she put into the command," X explained, pushing his hands into his pockets. It was an unfortunate set up, otherwise Organization XIV would never have been a problem.

"Interesting. Perhaps I can make use of you," the man said. X glowered at him. Those were words he didn't like. The last one who had said them ruined X's entire life.

Before X could react to the words beyond his glare, movement from the right caught his eye.

"I think you messed up on the coding of this thing or the groundings not right, or something like that. Whatever it is, it's not working," Y said her shoulders slumped as she looked at the old man. She cast a sidelong glance down to the main floor when she noticed the man's gaze. She sighed heavily her shoulders dropping even more as she rolled her eyes. "What did you do?"

"What makes you assume I did something?" X asked.

"You're here aren't you? And I don't see Sora anywhere," Y answered her hands going to her hips. X chuckled looking to the floor.

"Long story," he said before looking up at her again. "Need some help?"

"Yes. But you're telling me this long story," Y said. She looked over at the old man calmly. "It's cool if he helps me, right?" she asked. Though it seemed less a question and more of a demand.

"I don't see why not. Tell me, does he share the same hatred toward Xehanort?" the man asked. Y laughed.

"Honestly, I think his might be even stronger," she said looking back down at X. He merely nodded. "Let's go X. I have things to show you."

* * *

_A/N: When only one of your characters knows exactly what the hell is going on but for plot convenience, he never tries to explain it to the others. Goddamn it X!_


	17. Chapter XVI

**Chapter XVI; Keepers of Balance**

X coughed waving his hand in front of his face to clear away dust. Y ignored him throwing another stack of papers onto the desk in front of him. X coughed again his eyes watering. It was clear no one had been in this lab for a long time. Years at the very least, possibly even longer. Searching through the desks Y was pulling out file after file of papers and threw them in a stack in front of X after a quick skim over the contents. X could only see graphs and figures, things he had never understood.

"I'm a thousand percent certain this is a bad idea. A very bad idea," X said coughing off to the side and waving his hand in front of his face. Y rolled her eyes as she continued skimming over the file in her hand.

"You know as well as I do no one ever comes into this lab. We were the only ones ever brave enough," she said closing the file and tossing it onto the desk. It landed with a puff of dust. X glared at Y.

"Or, you know, stupid enough," he offered. Y shot him a glare in return forcefully closing the draw she had been searching through.

The old lab in their homeworld had long been abandoned. The two themselves couldn't remember the accident that had supposedly killed everyone who worked there. X wasn't even sure if they had been born at the time. He was inclined to think they hadn't from the age of the other Heartless that had been born from the accident, which had not been an accident.

"I do not need your pessimism. Just shut up and help me," Y said turning her back on X and walking to another part of the lab. X rolled his eyes and followed her looking over the bench she seemed to decide was the next thing to search through.

"It's not pessimism, it's realism. But, fine. What are we even looking for?" X asked leaning against the bench and picking up a random stack of papers. His eyes skimmed over the words but he saw nothing even remotely interesting.

"It had occurred to me, the experiments done here had to be similar to what Terra-Xehanort did in Radiant Gardens, right?" Y asked. X frowned and nodded.

"Yes. I would assume they had their commonalities," he agreed.

"Right. So DiZ wants to learn all he can about those exact experiments, we can't get that info. So let's look at what we can," she explained. She frowned tossing aside the papers she had been looking at. X assumed they didn't have the information she wanted on them.

"I suppose that makes sense," he said.

"Right, let's check the library," Y suggested. X frowned crossing his arms not making any effort to move.

"I've read every book in that library at least twice. There's nothing there," he said. Y stopped in her tracks and turned to face him her eyebrows furrowed together as she frowned.

"When did you have the time for that?" she asked.

"When you were gone," X answered with a shrug.

"What did you do? Stay here 24/7?" Y asked. The library here was filled to the brim with books. Some shelves were even overflowing with books crammed in the small space between the shelf and the other books. It would have taken her years to go through even one section let alone the entire library. Of course, X had always been much faster at reading and had started on his quest of reading every book in that library when he was very young. But it still would have taken years to finish the library.

"For the most part. If I could avoid the city I did," X answered.

"Why?" Y asked. X shrugged again.

"There was nothing for me in the city. I thought it'd be better to do something productive. So I tried learning a few things," he said. Y frowned looking down. X had always had a harder time fitting in. He had very few friends since all eyes always had seemed to be on him.

"Oh," she said softly.

Despite his words, Y went into the library. X followed not giving much of an argument. They searched the lab in silence. Occasionally X would toss something for Y to look at, but he never said anything. Y allowed him his time to think.

Y gasped as she found a picture.

"Holy crap," she breathed out.

"What is it?" X asked walking over to her. His expression was one of concern, eyebrows drawn together and lips set in a small frown.

"This is Master Eraqus," Y said showing the picture of three young teenagers. "He was hot." X snickered turning his head to the side.

"I forgot that was here," he said.

"You've seen this before?" Y asked tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah. Terra found it when we were here," X answered. His frown deepened as the words left his mouth. His eyes narrowed looking at the picture. It was a look Y saw so often she didn't have to think what it meant. She turned her eyes back to the picture following X's gaze to the silver-haired teen.

"So, if that's Master Eraqus. Does that mean the silver-haired one is," she trailed off looking at the boy with silver hair. He was smiling with his arms crossed. He seemed to be rolling his eyes at something that was making the other two laugh. He looked so calm. So, normal.

"Xehanort. Yeah," X agreed.

"And the white-haired girl?" Y asked her eyes going to the girl in question. She was hiding her smile behind her hand, eyes closed. Y didn't know who she was, but she was almost certain she had seen her before.

"Tayressa, or her someone anyway," X said.

"She, she was a keyblade wielder?" Y asked looking from the picture to her brother. It made sense. That would explain why she was familiar. But it seemed wrong. How could a wielder willing give up their heart? Unless it was such a strange circumstance like her own.

"Don't really know. She was here briefly while Terra and I were. She called them her friends," X said with a shrug. Y frowned looking back at the picture.

"Master Eraqus never really told us anything about his training. Only said he trained in Scala ad Caelum. I never knew there was anyone else," Y said. Of course, they had guessed there had been another. Master Xehanort, after all, had been a pupil with him. But they had never been told of those days.

"What a shame Eraqus never spoke of what once was."

The twins wheeled around, Y dropping the picture back where she had found it. She was surprised to see Tayressa standing behind them, her arms crossed. Her red eyes were watching them almost sadly. She leaned back against a bookshelf. "I always thought he was the more sentimental of us all. The one who held too tightly to the past."

"Don't talk about him that way!" Y snapped stepping forward, her fist clenched.

"I only speak the truth. He feared the past so greatly. He never taught his own pupils the truth of the darkness. Never told them a whisper of what the darkness was. Only that it was evil. He loved the light too greatly." Y watched her eyes move as she spoke, looking between the two twins as if they would understand certain parts of her words better than the other.

"If he was your friend how could you say that about him!?" Y asked, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She hadn't thought about her master in years. And thinking about him now, all she could think was he would be so disappointed in her. He wouldn't even acknowledge her as who she was. She would just be a monster now.

"I see he taught you well, little Light's Keeper. Do you too foolishly follow the light?" Tayressa asked, slowly pushing herself off the bookshelf and taking a few steps towards them. Y's fist clenched tighter.

"Light is the creator of darkness, you can't know one without the other. I might be a wielder of light, but that makes me a shelter for the darkness," she said. Tayressa laughed, her voice cold and empty.

"Perhaps he did teach you something," she said calmly.

"What about Xehanort?"

The white-haired woman turned to look at X, her eyes narrowed. He stood calmly where he had been when she had arrived. He was calmly staring at her with his purple eyes narrowed.

"What of him?" Tayressa asked.

"You keep saying Eraqus was a fool. A blind follower of the light. What does that make Xehanort? Is he some righteous man with vision? The only one who saw the truth?" X asked. Tayressa smiled softly and looked down at the ground.

"No, he was just as much a fool. A boy obsessed with Fairytales. First obsessed with finding a way off his world, then with finding a power of fables," she said.

"Kingdom Hearts," X said. Tayressa nodded and looked back up.

"He was obsessed with it. He only desired it's power, for the sake of quelling his curiosity. Despite all warnings, he didn't care. He threw his life away to find a power no one could prove existed. Searched for one of those books as if he had no other choice," Tayressa said. Y frowned. Anger filled her words like she was finally speaking what she had always thought. Had Tayressa ever told anyone else this?

"Book?" Y asked, trying to keep her talking. Anything to understand Xehanort's motives. Anything to find out his next move.

"The book of prophecies. The place where it was first written," Tayressa said. Y's frown only deepened. She had heard of that before. Hadn't she?

"What was first written?" she asked.

"On that fated land a great war shall transpire," Tayressa began. Y was surprised when X was the one to finish for her.

"There darkness shall prevail and the light expire," he said softly. Y turned to glance at him. He knew those words, and, hadn't he said that to her before? No, he hadn't. But why, why did it sound so familiar?

"It never has really worked out that way has it? Light and darkness are always born to us together. Never alone," Tayressa said. Y gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"I suspect you will learn in time. Sooner than you think," Tayressa said. Y was about to question her, but she was stopped by X stepping forward.

"You want Kingdom Hearts too," he said. Tayressa turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised in question. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she waited for X to explain. "If Xehanort is a fool then so are you. Or do you have some defense for yourself?" X asked, keeping his gaze even.

"No, I am a fool," Tayressa said softly looking to the side. "But what choice do I have? The worlds do not accept our kind. I want to correct what we did wrong. I want to allow them to return to who they once were."

Y frowned, feeling her chest tighten. She could understand that. After all, she couldn't imagine the idea of facing her friends as she was. She had never said it to X, but she was glad she had never found Aqua. How could she face her friends who thought no heart meant no feelings? How could she ever return to the normal life she had? Would they accept her as she was?

"And you're just letting Xemnas act on his own?" X asked.

"We have, what you would call, a backup plan. I hope not to use it if not necessary. It's a riskier version, of what has already been done," Tayressa replied. She was avoiding the question. Y suspected that meant she was just allowing Xemnas to act. But, a backup plan. That was a problem.

"Is there some guidebook with multiple ways to summon Kingdom Hearts that are circulating the worlds?" Y asked.

"No, but the Book of prophecies holds it's own stories. That, paired with a child who remembers the first war, one can find out near anything," Tayressa said calmly. She repressed a soft chuckle looking at Y as her face fell.

"Where can I get ahold of one of these books?" Y asked.

"Only one remains. The others were lost with their foretellers. But, I won't tell you where you might find this book. It's rather precious. An entire world on its own. Protecting a record of what led to the fall. Such knowledge shouldn't be carelessly given," Tayressa answered. X snickered shaking his head.

"So you suddenly don't want to talk. Funny, considering that's all you've done," he said. Y looked at Y, resting her hand on her hip.

"We could always make her talk," she suggested. X stared at her a moment before nodding.

"We could."

"Is that a challenge?" Tayressa asked.

"But of course," X said. With a flick of his wrists, his daggers appeared in his hands. Tayressa glanced over to Y.

"Unless you want to just tell us what we want to know," Y said summoning her keyblade. Tayressa sighed looking down.

"Fighting against the apprentices of the boys I was once able to say I loved. I suppose though not my first choice, I shouldn't pass on the opportunity to test you," she said. Y frowned as she looked back up. In her hand, a black katana appeared in a beam of shadows. "Let us begin."

X was the first to move, in the blink of an eye, he was behind Tayressa. Without moving from her position she placed her katana behind her back to block his blows.

"A trick from Xehanort, I suppose," she said calmly. Y glared and shot forward herself. Once again it seemed Tayressa effortlessly blocked her. "And you're as straight forward as Eraqus." Y's glare deepened.

Between the two twins, they managed to land the first blow soon. But it seemed to Y she wasn't really trying to fight them. It was more her trying to block their hits and trip them up. She hadn't gone on the offensive. Before long they had cornered the woman, who still looked relatively unharmed. A small cut on her cheek showed blood, Y glanced nervously at X who had to look to the side.

"You two, they taught you well," Tayressa said calmly as she reached up to wipe away the blood. Her narrowed eyes landed on X and a smirk slowly spread across her lips.

"Tell us what you know," Y demanded, drawing attention away from her brother. Tayressa turned to her, keeping a smirk.

"I think not. Until we meet again, Keepers of the balance," she said. She bowed lowly as a dark corridor engulfed her. When the darkness vanished she was gone.

"Oh come on!" Y complained banishing her keyblade. "What's the point of being more elite if they can just ignore us!?" She turned to X who only shrugged. He had always been the best at commanding other Heartless, she had seen him make many of the Organization members bow to his whims before.

"She shook us up first. The orders hold less power, easier to defy. Not to mention, she's pretty tough herself," X explained calmly. His head shook as he seemed to be pulling himself from his thoughts. He had grown paler, and Y hoped it didn't get any worse.

"Seriously?" Y asked.

"Two between me and her," X confirmed. Y frowned. She hadn't paid much attention to the hierarchy. It seemed to her it didn't matter. She knew Yuki was above her, and X was right below. But past that she didn't have the slightest clue how the order went.

"What do you think she meant?" Y asked looking back to where Tayressa had been. She had said plenty of strange things. But one thing stuck with her.

"Which part?" X asked.

"One who saw the war," Y said. She didn't know how long ago the war had happened. Thousands of years if the stories were true. Were the stories wrong? Had it happened not so long ago? And who had had the misfortune to see it?

"Not a clue. I thought everyone who had seen the war was dead," X said. Y nodded not really hearing him. Maybe it hadn't been so long ago. The wounds it caused still seemed so fresh.

"We should go. DiZ will be waiting," Y said, shaking her head from strange thoughts that made her head pulse.

"What are we going to tell him?" X asked.

"I'll figure that out later. Come on," Y said, opening a dark corridor. Though, she guessed her dark corridors weren't exactly dark. X had once compared them to mini lanes between. She thought that might have been more accurate. Who had she seen use them before? It was someone she knew. Someone she had really cared about.


	18. Chapter XVII

**Chapter XVII; Hidden Plans**

Yuki crossed her arms and looked at Naminé. The blonde Nobody sat in a chair drawing in her sketch pad. She hadn't looked up at Yuki since their conversation had begun. It was starting to annoy Yuki a little bit.

"Are you sure you'll be fine if I leave again?" she pressed. Naminé still didn't look up, her hand easily moving the pencil as she sketched the various images. "I've been leaving you on your own a lot. I don't want you to be scared."

"I can't be scared," Naminé said calmly. Yuki narrowed her eyes, her hand gripping her arms tightly.

"You and I both know that's not true," Yuki said quietly. Naminé stopped drawing at this time. She looked up and met Yuki's eyes. "Seriously, are you sure you don't want me to spend the day here?"

"There's no reason to. I'll be fine, honest," Naminé said with a soft smile. Yuki only frowned again.

"I'm leaving Phoenix with you," she decided, turning away from Naminé. Naminé almost jumped up, her surprise clear on her face.

"Huh?"

Yuki didn't reply, bringing her hand to her mouth as she whistled a short series of notes. In a vortex of shadows, the large Heartless bird coated in black and white flames appeared, wrapping itself around Yuki as it landed on the floor.

"I'm not leaving you without protection again. It just freaks me out. Anything could happen. Phoenix will protect you," Yuki explained resting her hand on top of Phoenix's beak. She turned to look in the bird's electric blue eyes. "Got that?" Phoenix chirped.

Of course.

Yuki chuckled briefly turning back to Naminé. She was glad to be getting used to taking to the less elite Heartless. She didn't seem to have to listen so much anymore.

"Good. Anything happens to Nami and I won't be happy," she said. Phoenix chirped again, this time it sounded like laughter.

"Yuki, this isn't necessary," Naminé said, with an exasperated sigh. Yuki smiled at her patting Phoenix's head. Despite the fire, it didn't burn. It only tickled Yuki.

"Yes, it is. I'll see you when I get back," Yuki said opening a dark corridor.

She reappeared in the backstreets of Shibuya. She stared at the mural covering the wall. She didn't really understand the mural. It was brightly colored and something that looked vaguely like a cat was in the center. Yuki reached out and touched the painting, smiling softly. She might not understand it. But it was at the very least cool.

She sighed turning away from the mural. She wandered the streets mindlessly, not even sure where she was going. Though, even if she had been paying attention she probably still wouldn't have known where she was going. Joshua had never done a very good job showing her around.

She wandered aimlessly until she heard a voice behind her.

"Look out!"

Yuki turned around to see a girl with choppy black hair jump kick a group of Noise. The girl skidded to a stop beside Yuki, her green eyes narrowing at the Noise. She wore a black t-shirt with a yellow plaid skirt.

"Thanks," Yuki said pulling her arms tightly to herself.

"No problem. You should be watching yourself better, Noise don't attack normals like you unless something is going on with them," the girl said, brushing her choppy bangs out of her eyes. Just from one look, Yuki swore she used safety scissors to cut her hair.

"Normals?" Yuki asked.

"Ya know, live ones. My special name for our kind anyway," the girl said. Yuki nodded glancing back to the Noise. The frog-like creatures were emitting the high pitched static. They didn't change expressions, but Yuki could tell they were angry.

"Well, no offense, but it doesn't look like you did much damage," she said. The girl grimaced.

"Yeah, I think I just made them mad," she said staring at the Noise as she seemed to think of what to do. "Run!" she grabbed Yuki's arm and dragged her through the city.

The two ended up collapsed on the sidewalk in the scramble crossing. The people milled around them, oblivious to the Noise that had chased the girls to this place. They looked at each other before bursting out into bright laughter. The girl brushed her bangs aside, smiling as she held her hand out to Yuki.

"My name's Ayano, Ayano Himura. What's your name?" the girl asked. Yuki smiled as she took her hand.

"Yuki, just Yuki," she said.

"No last name? Huh, that's kinda weird," Ayano said making a strange face. Yuki cringed, but Ayano shrugged it off. "Eh, whatever. So how long have you been in Shibuya?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm only here off and on. Not all that often really," Yuki said. Ayano visibly slumped.

"Really? That's too bad. It's not often there's another who can see the UG like me," she said. She glanced around, leaning to the side to avoid being ran into. Yuki smirked watching her.

"I've met at least one other," she said. Ayano turned to look at Yuki with a smirk of her own. Mischief twinkled in her eyes.

"Let me guess. Mr. Yoshiya Kiryu, all high and mighty, sarcastic and prissy to boot," she said, motioning widely with her hands. She hit a few passerbys who shot her glares but she didn't cast them a second glance. Her focus was on Yuki.

Yuki had a sneaking suspicion she knew who Ayano was talking about. All the descriptions seemed to match what Yuki knew about Joshua. Except the names didn't match. There couldn't be two Joshua's, could there? Would the world even still be standing?

Ayano chuckled seeing Yuki's blank stare. "Oh, he probably told you his name was Joshua," she said. Yuki felt a sigh of relief escape her. There wasn't two of him.

"You know him?" Yuki asked.

"Yup! He's my best friend!" Ayano said cheerfully. Yuki blinked a few times.

"And you talk about him like that?" she asked after a pause. Ayano laughed again, pulling at her choppy hair. She threw it over her shoulder turning back to Yuki.

"Yeah, someone has to keep him from getting too full of himself," she said. Her eyes looked off to the distance. Her smile dropped as her eyes narrowed. Yuki glanced in that direction and saw nothing of interest. Just people she couldn't identify. "Kariya, I wonder what he's doing. Didn't think there was a game this week."

"Who?" Yuki asked, looking back at Ayano.

"Lollipop reaper with orange hair. He's probably the strongest reaper around, but he never puts in the effort. There's a lot of talk that he'll be the conductor one day," Ayano explained. Yuki frowned tilting her head to the side.

"I'm sorry, conductor?" she asked. Ayano sighed and dropped her shoulders again.

"Right, Josh is a dick," she said. Yuki blinked in surprise once again. "Well, simply put there are about three super important guys who run the UG. The Conductor is in charge of the reapers, he picks the game master and in the end allows the players back to life. He collects entry fees and holds them too. There's the Producer, that's a guy named Mr. Hanekoma. He makes sure players know the rules. Usually, he just observes, but sometimes he'll hop in and help a few players out and remind reapers of the rules. And lastly, there's the Composer." Ayano explained calmly. Yuki frowned.

"That doesn't sound ominous at all," Yuki said. Ayano nodded and chuckled.

"Yeah. The Composer, he runs the entire UG of Shibuya. Mr. H says he's kinda like an angel, but he hasn't said much else on the topic. He decides when they play the game, who plays the game, and how many can make it back. He chooses the Conductor too. In the end, everything comes down to what the Composer says." Ayano frowned still staring off into the distance. Yuki followed her gaze, this time seeing the orange haired reaper she had called Kariya.

"Sounds like a fun guy," Yuki said. She had seen that reaper before. Her first time here. He had been the one to kill the girls she had followed.

"Yeah. I wanna find him one day. Then maybe I can find out what makes me so different," Ayano said wistfully.

"Sounds a little crazy," Yuki said.

"Yeah, but crazy is what works sometimes. One day, I'll know. And me and Josh won't just be freaks anymore," Ayano said. She shook her head looking away from Kariya. Her eyes were bright again, filled with fire.

"I hope that day comes soon then," Yuki said smiling. Ayano would be able to do it. The fire in her eyes made that clear.

"Thanks," Ayano said. She smiled and pushed herself to her feet, holding her hand out to Yuki. "Come on, let's go someplace else. We're getting a lot of weird looks here."

Yuki took her hand and allowed her to pull her up. They walked through the crossing to a side street. Ayano explained where they were going and which streets would lead where. It was far more helpful than when she had been with Joshua. Ayano was at least able to give directions.

The pair walked into the Wildkat café Ayano throwing the door open.

"Hey Mr. H!" she called as she pulled Yuki into the door.

"Hey Aya," Mr. H said not looking up. The man with black hair glanced up from the glass he was cleaning. His gaze seemed to stop when he saw Yuki. "Oh, Yuki right?" he asked.

"That's me," Yuki greeted with a salute. Ayano laughed covering her mouth with her hand. Mr. H didn't acknowledge her laugh, instead looking back down to the glass he was cleaning.

"Didn't know you were around," he commented. Yuki shrugged following Ayano over to the counter. Ayano leaned up against the counter with her arms crossed. Yuki stood beside her leaning on one of the tall chairs.

"Just showed up. There haven't been any major problems have there?" Yuki asked.

"None in your division."

Yuki glanced over her shoulder to see the familiar blonde figure of Joshua. He was smirking, his violet eyes locked on to Yuki. Whatever he was thinking Yuki was sure she wouldn't like it. Ayano groaned leaning her head onto the counter.

"And the prissy brat appears," she said sarcastically.

"Funny, I thought you were here before me," Joshua shot back turning his attention to the distressed girl. Ayano looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, hahaha, I'm so amused at that weak comeback."

"Oh please dear, you know I would win if I was trying."

"Only if hell froze over," Ayano said spinning around to face Joshua. He rolled his eyes.

"The ninth ring of hell is frozen," he said simply.

"Why do you know that?" Ayano asked.

"Why don't you?" Joshua retaliated. Yuki held back a chuckle glancing at Mr. H.

"Are they always like that?" Yuki asked. Mr. H snickered and nodded.

"Pretty much," he said. He looked up from his task once again watching the two friends go back and forth again. "Are you two going to keep arguing, or am I going to have to put you to work?" he asked. They both froze, their eyes meeting.

"To be continued," Ayano said. Joshua shrugged looking away from her.

"Sounds fair," he said. He turned away from Ayano and walked to the counter, sitting in the seat beside Yuki. He turned to her with a smirk she did not like the looks of. "So, what brings you around?" Yuki shrugged looking to her other side where Ayano had sat down.

"I felt like it. Hadn't been here in a while," she said.

"Well, are you willing to answer a few more questions about those Heartless?" Joshua asked. Yuki nodded turning back to look at him. He smirked at her crossing his arms. "Are you one?"

"An elite form, yes," Yuki confirmed calmly. She held back a laugh at the expression that crossed his face. It only lasted for a second before he returned to his calm expression touched with arrogance. She glanced over at Mr. H to see him looking at her over his sunglasses. Ayano seemed to be the only one who didn't react. She only looked to be confused by what Joshua had said. "Didn't expect me to admit it?" Yuki asked.

"I was expecting denial, yes," Joshua agreed.

"What's a Heartless?" Ayano asked leaning onto the counter and looking around Yuki to Joshua. He rolled his eyes and brushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Remember those shadow monsters that I kept insisting weren't Noise," Joshua asked. Ayano pursed her lips together and nodded.

"Yes. One of them flipped us off," she said sourly. Yuki chuckled bringing her hand to her mouth to mask the chuckle.

"Oh, that one," she said.

"See a lot of him?" Joshua asked.

"Yeah, he never sticks around long enough to get killed," Yuki admitted. She had too many encounters with that one. And X and Y had admitted to knowing that particular Shadow too. At least they assumed it was the same one.

"So that was a Heartless?" Ayano asked.

"A Shadow specifically," Yuki answered. Ayano nodded and crossed her arms, tapping her chin.

"And your just an elite version of that?" Ayano asked looking at Yuki. She nodded calmly. Ayano looked her up and down as if looking for some sign she was something similar to a Shadow. Or waiting for her to grow antenna or something.

"How elite exactly?" Joshua asked. Yuki glanced over her shoulder at him and shrugged once again lowering her eyes.

"Highest you can get," she said softly.

"So, you don't have a heart?" Ayano asked. Yuki turned her attention back to her.

"Debatable," Yuki said. Ayano scrunched her nose and frowned.

"So you're not heartless?" she asked.

"Also debatable," Yuki said. Ayano stared at her for a moment, a blank expression on her face. Her brows furrowed together as she turned to look at Mr. H.

"Well, I'm confused now," Ayano announced before pressing her forehead into the counter. Yuki laughed and patted her shoulder gently.

"Join the club," she said. Ayano chuckled sitting up and glancing at Yuki. She heard a chuckle from her other side, which meant Joshua was somehow amused.

"Well, as long as we're both confused," Ayano said.

"Why did they show up here?" Joshua asked. Yuki frowned as she looked down at her hands.

"My fault, they followed me. But, they're probably trying to drag your world into the darkness so..." she trailed off. She had never had to explain this to someone. Usually, there was some rule they couldn't interfere. But she doubted Joshua would let vague answers fly, though he gave plenty of his own.

"And what will happen then?" Joshua asked.

"Don't know, never seen it happen. Eventually, it returns but, not sure what the whole process is," Yuki admitted. Joshua nodded and looked away, tapping his chin in thought.

"How interesting," he said softly. His eyes narrowed as he stared at nothing.

"Oh no, he's plotting," Ayano said.

"I regret everything I said that led to this," Yuki muttered. Joshua sighed dropping his hands.

"Well, I suppose I'll leave it there for now. Save more surprises for later," he said.

"Great!" Ayano said jumping up. Yuki flinched back as she hit her hands on the counter. "Then I'm taking Yuki and we're hanging out! See ya!" she declared grabbing Yuki's arm and dragging her out the door.

Yuki didn't know much of what was going on for the rest of the day. Ayano showed her around the city ("Properly," she said as she glared at Joshua, who had followed them). She pointed out different stores and the quickest route from place to place. She even showed Yuki where reapers would usually hang out.

"Ok, I'm pretty sure half of the city has suddenly decided long white coats are fashionable," Ayano commented as the walked through Dogenzaka. Yuki glanced at her with furrowed brows. She hadn't really been paying attention to people, only places. To hopefully avoid getting lost. It wasn't looking promising.

"You know how the trends work around here," Joshua said off-handedly, not looking up from his phone. Yuki had made note he seemed to always have his eyes glued to the device.

"Are you suggesting that there is a player wearing a long white coat that is a total badass?" Ayano asked. Joshua shrugged.

"You never know," he said.

"White coat?" Yuki asked. Ayano stopped Yuki grabbing her shoulders and turning her to face a person on the street. They were, in fact, wearing a long white coat that went to their feet with a hood.

"See, white coats. They're everywhere," Ayano said sarcastically. Yuki frowned.

"That's, that's actually a bad sign," she said. Ayano released her and raised her eyebrows looking at Joshua. Joshua had looked up from his phone and looked at Yuki.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"That's what most elite Heartless wear. It's kinda a uniform," Yuki explained crossing her arms around herself.

"And you don't wear it because?" Joshua asked.

"I'm not exactly on great terms with my kind," Yuki answered evenly.

Joshua and Ayano exchanged a look, their eyes meeting. They seemed to have an entire conversation between themselves without saying a word. The way X and Y used to. Ayano rolled her eyes looking away from Joshua. As he was about to ask something, a reaper ran past fear in his eyes. The group all looked at each other in shock.

"Was, that a Reaper running away from something?" Ayano asked.

"So it would seem," Joshua said, looking toward where the reaper had run from. If Yuki remembered her tour correctly that would be the concert stage.

"I'm going to go check that out," Yuki said calmly taking a few steps forward. She stopped when she felt Ayano's hand rest on her shoulder.

"We'll come too," Ayano said.

"Are you sure?" Yuki asked. She didn't know what they would be facing. But she doubted it was something small if a reaper was running from it. Her understanding of reapers said little scared them. Joshua stepped forward placing a hand on his hip.

"Please, we have to protect ourselves from Noise, we can help with whatever this is," Joshua said, smirking. Yuki looked between her two friends and sighed.

"Alright. Let's go," she said.

Luckily from where they were, it wasn't a long trek to the concert stage where even Noise seemed to be running from. It was strange to see the creatures that had attacked Yuki numerous times running away from something Yuki wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was. But in the end, she had to help this world. Somehow.

The stage was dark, but not dark to the point they couldn't see entirely. Standing on the stage were two figures, wearing white cloaks with their hoods up. It did help mask the identity of one. But Yuki knew very well only one member of Organization XIV refused to zip their coat up, showing the red crop top she wore underneath it. Sykitune.

"Suspicious enough," Joshua commented, tensing beside Yuki. The two cloaked figures turned to look at them, one clapped their hands together.

"Oh, look who's here," she said calmly. Yuki knew her voice. Myruai.

"Fun, we get the little princess," Sykitune said, putting her hand on her hip. Yuki glared at the older Heartless.

"You know, now that I know you guys seem to have no problem reminding me. But before I knew you couldn't say anything," she said in annoyance. Sykitune shrugged.

"What can I say, didn't feel like having a new boss," she said. Yuki rolled her eyes, feeling her hands itching. She wanted to summon her keyblades and get this over with. But, she should give them the chance to leave peacefully. Myruai didn't like fights after all. Maybe she could reign in her friend.

"What do you want here?" Yuki asked.

"We have a few things to do. More Heartless to spread, find the keyhole. Usual stuff," Myruai explained. Yuki sighed heavily.

"That doesn't sound pleasant," Joshua said. Sykitune smirked flipping her hood back.

"Bringing Somebodies with you. Seems you're desperate for help. Where are the other traitors?" she asked, her turquoise eyes narrowing. Yuki glared at her in turn.

"Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you," she said. She summoned her keyblades to her hand, which caused Ayano to jump back.

"Oh, looks like we got a fight," Sykitune said, summoning her own weapon to her hands. A set of twin sai's, bright red like much of her hair. Beside her, Myruai lowered her own hood, showing her nervous blue eyes.

"Do we have to?" she asked softly. She summoned her flute to her hand, twirling it between nimble fingers.

"Come on Myruai, do you want to tell Syrine we failed our mission? Just because a little brat showed up?" Sykitune asked.

"We can't kill her. She's important," Myruai said simply. Yuki frowned her grip on her keyblades tightening. What was she important for?

"So, we capture her. No biggie," Sykitune said, brushing off Myruai's concern. The brown haired girl sighed heavily and turned to the group of three watching.

"Fine, but if we mess up it's on you," she said as she brought her flute to her lips.

Yuki moved before Myruai could play a single note. She didn't know much about how Myruai fought. She had only been on a few missions with her. But she knew she couldn't let Myruai play. Her sounds could do some crazy things.

Yuki skidded back from Myruai who had managed to get out a short series of notes. Glancing over she was surprised to see Joshua and Ayano holding their own quite well. Like the blonde player Yuki had seen the first time in Shibuya, Ayano used a whip made from a chain. Joshua was still glued to his phone, but it seemed with a press of a few buttons he was able to drop objects ranging from blockades to actual cars onto his opponent. Yuki didn't know how he managed that, but it was useful, so she wasn't going to complain.

Yuki turned her attention back to Myruai who's eyes were wide and pleading. Yuki frowned glancing at Sykitune. She didn't seem to see what was going on. Yuki returned to look at Myruai and nodded. Myruai smiled and pulled back, dropping to the ground as if beaten.

Yuki pulled back and joined Ayano and Joshua, just as Joshua dropped a car too closely to Ayano. The car did hurt Sykitune, but Yuki had to push Ayano back to her feet.

"Joshua dammit!" Ayano snapped.

"Just point it out, dear," Joshua responded standing beside the two girls. Ayano gave an exasperated sigh.

"You are not god," she muttered, but Joshua didn't seem to hear her.

"Ok, abort mission," Sykitune said, holding her shoulder.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Myruai said from where she knelt.

"Whatever, we'll have her under our thumb soon enough," Sykitune snapped back. She glared at Yuki as two dark corridors appeared, taking their enemies away.

"What was that?" Ayano asked, dropping her chain to the ground.

"They seemed pretty intent on making you work for them again. Got any ideas?" Joshua asked, tilting his head to the side. Yuki frowned looking where the two had vanished.

"Not a clue. But whatever they meant, it's not going to be pretty. I should get going," Yuki answered. Staying here would likely only cause more trouble. And she wanted to check on Naminé.

"Alright, come back soon," Ayano said, smiling briefly before a trouble expression crossed her face.

"If you need anything don't hesitate to ask," Joshua said. Ayano rolled her eyes and shoved Joshua playfully.

"Don't ask him. He'll make you pay later," she said. Yuki chuckled and nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_A/N: This chapter obviously features another original character. Ayano is my OC for The World Ends With You. I'm probably never going to get around to writing her story, so I figured why not throw her in here._

_To my Guest reader, that is a brilliant idea. I love that song and would love to find a place to use it. I'm definitely going to try!_

_I also almost forgot to update today. I was too busy sobbing over the new RWBY soundtrack._


	19. Chapter XVIII

**Chapter XVIII; Who They Were**

Yuki smiled sweetly at the woman who handed her the stick of ice cream. It had been a long day of searching again for a safe place. It was starting to seem like no world would be quite as safe as Castle Oblivion. Naminé had once again insisted she could handle the day alone. Yuki did believe her, it just seemed wrong. Nami was always alone. She shouldn't have to be. She would have to spend the next few days with her.

Yuki aimlessly wandered Twilight Town. It was the first time she really didn't have to worry too much about who else saw her. When they had been part of the organizations they only talked to shopkeeps. No one else in town was supposed to see them. Now it didn't matter.

She used to love hearing the whispers of the town. Talk of the ghosts on top of the clock tower. Xion had laughed when Yuki had told her about that rumor. The thought of Xion caused Yuki's stomach to twist as she looked at her half-finished ice cream. Suddenly she wasn't so hungry.

She still didn't know, why she remembered when no one else did. Even Naminé couldn't explain it, and she was an expert in memories. Maybe she could get rid of the memories for Yuki. Then it wouldn't hurt as much. She had already lost Roxas, but at least there was someone else she could talk to about that. But no one remembered Xion to grieve with her.

Yuki disposed of her ice cream and stuck her hands in her pockets. She felt her hand brush against the seashell in her pocket. Xion's seashell. The cool shell sent a shock through her arm. She had almost forgotten she had it.

"Hey, Yuki!"

Yuki jolted from her thoughts turning to see who had called her. She smiled briefly seeing Sora and his two companions, though still no sign of X. Sora waved at her with a broad smile. He didn't drop his arm until Yuki walked over to join them, tightly gripping on the seashell as if holding Xion's hand.

"Sora, hey. What brings you here?" Yuki asked. Sora smiled as he crossed his ankles and put his arms behind his head.

"This worlds been kinda weird on our map for a while, so we thought we'd check it out now that it's back," he explained.

"Weird, I haven't had a problem getting here," Yuki said, frowning lightly. Twilight Town had been a pretty regular stop. Though she didn't like it as she knew DiZ was close by. That's where Y was working right now.

"Do you come here often?" Sora asked tilting his head to the side. Yuki smiled and nodded looking away from the brick road and back up to Sora.

"This is my favorite world. It's, it's almost like home," she said.

"What about Destiny Islands?" Sora asked with a pout. Yuki chuckled.

"Don't worry, that's a close second. I just have a lot of good memories here. This is where I met all my friends," she explained. She glanced over her shoulder to where the clock tower was. As she turned back to Sora they were interrupted by a small figure running past.

"H-help! The sandlot! It's Seifer! Somebody please help us!" the figure yelled. They were dressed in blue with a hat falling over their bright yellow eyes. Yuki watched them go before turning back to Sora.

"We're going to put this conversation on hold to go help whoever that is, right?" she asked. It was a pointless question. The day Sora decided not to help someone would be quite the day.

"Yeah, but where's the sandlot?" Sora asked. Yuki smirked.

"This way, come on," she said turning her back and running to the Sandlot. She had remembered its location well enough. It was the first place she had seen Roxas and Xion. A mission taking out deserters. This time the Sandlot was filled with Dusks that seemed to be surrounding three teenagers. One wore a beanie and seemed to be trying to push himself up. Sora jumped in front of them drawing his keyblade.

"We'll take it from here!" Sora said. Yuki sighed calling Heartless Keeper to her hand.

She hated fighting Nobodies. They were twisting around and bent out of the way of every attack. It was more of a headache than it was ever worth. But she couldn't just stand on the side while Sora did the work. She joined in he fight, eventually exterminating the Dusks.

With the twisty white Nobodies gone, and the Beserkers that had followed after them (much to Yuki's annoyance), Yuki looked around. There had to be a reason the Nobodies were here.

"Impressive," a dark voice said. Yuki shuddered, turning as a dark corridor opened. A hooded figure stepped out clapping his hands slowly. Yuki glared, her grip on Heartless Keeper tightening. "By the way, have you seen a man named Axel? I expect he's here somewhere," the man said. Saix. Yuki knew his voice, somehow.

"Like I care," Sora said. Saix turned his gaze from Sora to Yuki.

"Perhaps you know of his whereabouts little princess. He was fond of you," Saix said. Yuki narrowed her eyes even further, straightening her posture as she tried to appear to be looking down at him. It was difficult as he was much taller than her.

"That's queen to you. Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you," Yuki said firmly. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at Yuki with wide eyes, but she didn't react. She kept her cold glare focused on Saix. He only sneered at her.

"You see, Axel's no longer acting in our best interest," Saix said calmly.

"Is he with the Organization, too?" Goofy asked.

"Yes," Saix said.

"You havin' a fight?" Donald asked puffing up his feathers.

"Not a very organized Organization," Sora said mockingly. Yuki snickered at Saix, bring her hand up to cover her mouth as she looked away from him. She held back her smirk as she looked back at him.

"Maybe you should have actually listened to him. You guys were friends, right?" Yuki said. She again earned looks of surprise form Sora and his companions. But she ignored them focusing on the souring expression on Saix's face underneath his hood. He turned his glare from her onto Sora as he pointed at him.

"Don't let your guard down. Axel will stop at nothing to turn you into a Heartless," Saix warned.

"Gee, thanks for looking out for us, mister. But I'm sure we can take care of ourselves just fine," Sora responded. Saix lowered his arm and stepped back from them.

"Glad to hear it. Axel aside, it would break our hearts to hear something happened to you," Saix said. Yuki frowned as Donald stepped forward.

"Hearts? You don't have any hearts!" the duck objected.

"True, we don't have hearts," Saix said lowering his hood. His long blue hair fell down his back and his yellow eyes narrowed at the group. "But we remember what it was like. That's what makes us special." A portal appeared behind him and he slowly began to step back into it.

"Whaddya mean?" Goofy asked.

"We know very well how to injure a heart. Sora, you just keep on fighting those Heartless," Saix said coming to a halt inside the swirling smoke.

"Let's jump in after him!" Sora whispered to Donald and Yuki, hiding his mouth from Saix's view. Yuki suspected it did little to help the situation.

"How come?" Donald asked.

"I'm not sure, but maybe he'll lead us to the Organization's world," Sora suggested. It was likely he was right. The dark corridors usually connected to locations as they opened. But there was no way to guarantee, maybe Saix was counting on Sora following him.

"Sora-" Yuki began, only to be cut off by Saix.

"Don't be reckless. Do you want to end up like Riku?" Saix asked. Sora turned on him quickly fist clenched so tightly Yuki was certain he would summon his keyblade back in moments.

"What!?" he shouted. Saix smirked as he bowed back into the dark corridor and vanished. Yuki frowned glancing to Sora again. "Hey wait!" Sora cried, reaching out to Saix. He dropped his arm and frowned when it became clear he was too late. He crossed his arms, tapping his chin "What did he mean, end up like Riku?"

"I don't know. But those portals are dangerous. If you go through them without protection you can get swallowed by the darkness," Yuki said, hoping to ease Sora's curiosity. His face immediately became panicked, eyes widening and his mouth falling open.

"You don't think Riku's been swallowed by the darkness!" Sora yelled. Yuki waved her arms in front of her.

"No, I'm sure he's fine. Saix was just trying to confuse you," she said. Sora nodded but frowned, looking away from Yuki for a moment. She let out a relieved breath dropping her arms. She had forgotten how quickly Sora could jump from topic to topic. Or how quickly he could draw conclusions.

"Do, you know those guys?" Sora asked curiously tilting his head to the side. Yuki looked away and nodded, rubbing her shoulder nervously.

"Some of them. It's all part of that long story I promised to tell you later," Yuki said. She could feel the tension filling the air. Little of it actually came from Sora, most came from Donald and Goofy. She was spared having to explain by the blonde with the beanie interrupting.

"Hey, how 'bout you get out of my town now? You've caused enough trouble," he said stepping forward. Donald ruffled his feathers and turned his back on the blonde and his companions. A girl with silver-blue hair and a boy with brown hair.

"Have it your way! C'mon guys," Donald said leaning the way out of the Sandlot. They hadn't taken a step when the blonde spoke again.

"Hold it!"

"Make up your mind," Donald complained as they turned back to face the blonde. Yuki could see red dusting his cheeks as he stared down at the ground, holding a trophy out to them. If she remembered it was the one from the struggle match that had been sitting off to the side.

"This goes to the strongest guy in Twilight Town," he said. Sora blinked in shock and pointed to himself.

"Thanks, but, we don't really need it," Sora said with a nervous laugh. The blonde ignored them, shoving the trophy before walking away his two companions trailing after him. Yuki watched them leave with her head tilted to the side. Somebody's were very strange at times like this. She wasn't sure it was something she would ever get.

"Oh! Sora!"

Yuki turned again to see a heavy set dark haired boy entering the Sandlot. Yuki remembered him from ages ago. The day they had had off to do whatever they liked. Her and Roxas had just goofed around with him and his friends for a bit.

"Um, Pence, right?" Sora asked. The boy nodded.

"Do you know a girl named Kairi?" Pence asked. Sora's eyes brightened as a smile crossed his face.

"K...Kairi!? I sure do!" he agreed.

"Then you better come to the station!" Pence said. Sora nodded before turning to Yuki.

"Yuki, are you coming too?" he asked. Yuki sighed putting a hand on her hip, raising her eyebrows in question.

"Sora, that is my sister. Of course I'm coming," she said.

Pence led them to the station plaza, though Yuki didn't need the guide. She supposed she would allow Sora the time to be with his friends from other worlds. Not to mention who knew what was waiting for them. They probably needed Pence to get the information. But every second Yuki was near him her stomach tied itself into tighter knots. Just seeing him made her think of Roxas, laughing, playing a stupid game. Of times they had lost.

"Hey!"

Yuki had hardly realized they had reached the station plaza. She only stopped because Sora had, his attention now focused on a blonde boy and girl with brown hair. The other two that were always with Pence.

"Hey, so how do you guys know Kairi?" Soar asked, quickly passing by usual greetings. The two looked between each other sadly, their faces quickly falling. Yuki clenched her hands tightly. That couldn't be a good start.

"Well, we were in the usual spot when Kairi fell through this portal with a dog," the girl began to explain. Searching her memory Yuki thought her name was Olette.

"She talked to us for a while," the blonde boy, Hayner, if Yuki could remember correctly said.

"Kairi was really here?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Yeah. And...she said she was looking for you," Hayner said. Yuki frowned hearing the hesitation in his voice.

"Tell me where she is," Sora said. His fist tightened as he looked between the three others. They all looked at each other, seeming to silently decide who would deliver what terrible news they had to give.

"Well..." Hanyer began.

"After she was with us for a while, and told us her story, this guy with red hair and a black cloak came through another portal and took her!" Olette finished. Yuki felt her breath catch in her throat, her mouth hanging slightly open. Her fist unclenched as she looked down to the brick ground. It made sense now, why Saix had been looking for Axel, and what he had meant. But why Kairi?

"Kairi," Sora said looking down at the lucky charm in his hand. He frowned as he slipped the charm into his pocket.

"Ya think it mighta been Axel?" Goofy asked. Yuki was surprised it had clicked so soon with any of them, but she couldn't bring herself to confirm it. She needed to hear what Axel had to say first.

"Sorry..." Hayner said dejectedly.

"Hey, it's not your fault. C'mon, cheer up!" Sora said, forcing a smile. It quickly dropped as he looked at the ground. "Like I can even say that," he sighed. He was only looking down for a moment before he straightened up with new found motivation. "I gotta help Kairi!" he shouted.

His shout startled Goofy who dropped the trophy he was still carrying. The crystals the trophy held fell from their places rolling across the ground and landing at the feet of Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Sora. They all bent down to pick up the crystals and held them toward the light.

"That was close!" Pence said with a chuckle. Yuki nodded glancing at Sora. Her breath caught again as she fought the urge to cry out. Where Sora should have been standing she saw a blonde boy staring up at the sky. He glanced at Yuki and smiled softly. Yuki couldn't move to return the smile.

"Sora!?"

"Sora! Are you ok?"

Yuki blinked and shook her head. Looking back it was Sora, seeming to come out of a trance. Brown hair and black clothes, not white. The same blue eyes.

"Huh? What?" Sora asked, not seeming to realize anything was wrong. Goofy frowned looking at an orange pouch in his hand. Olette seemed to want to say something but was stopped by the crystal in Sora's hand glowing. He made a motion with his key, something Yuki didn't fully understand, but Donald and Goofy didn't look surprised.

"Wh-what just happened?" Pence asked.

"A new road is open. And Kairi and Riku are waiting somewhere along it," Sora said with a nod, looking away from the sky.

"You better hurry, then," Olette said with a smile.

"You comin' back?" Hayner asked.

"Promise!" Sora confirmed. He turned to Yuki with a hopeful smile. "Are you coming too?" he asked. Yuki smiled at him softly. Half of her wanted to say yes, and the other half screamed to end this now. She was becoming very good at ignoring that half of her mind. Her heart.

"I'll meet up with you later. There's something I want to check first," she said calmly. Sora nodded.

"Ok. See ya later," he said.

"Right," Yuki agreed hollowly. If Sora knew where she was going she doubted he would be so eager to see her again. But she needed answers, and very few people could give her those answers.

Yuki wandered away, but not for long. Just long enough the group o Twilight Town kids would be gone and Sora and his friends would have left. Long enough that she could get to the top of the clock tower without drawing any questions to herself.

The top of the clock tower was the safest place she could think of. Despite the risk of falling, which had happened before, nearly. It was the place everything slowed down enough Yuki could think. And she wasn't the only one who seemed to think that.

Axel was perched at the edge of the clock tower, his leg pulled up to his chest like it often was. His bright red hair matched the suns rays as it fell below the horizon. Yuki held back a chuckle seeing him.

"And I'm the predictable one," Yuki said calmly. Axel looked over his shoulder at her lazily, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"Snowy, what a surprise. Thought you were down there with Sora," he said nodding towards the station plaza below them. Yuki shrugged as she sat down beside him, leaving spots open for Roxas and Xion, as if they would join them as soon as their missions were complete.

"I was, and I found out something interesting from that," she said.

"Really, what might that be?" Axel asked. Yuki could hear the bitterness in his tone. Did he blame her for being near Sora? Did he think she wasn't trying to save Roxas just as hard? Yuki shook her head. None of that mattered. She had to focus on what she could do. And she could get some answers out of him.

"Where's Kairi?" Yuki asked.

"What? Axel asked, seeming confused.

"Where is Kairi? I know you're the one who took her. Where is she?" Yuki asked turning to look at Axel with narrowed eyes that looked like shards of ice. Axel met her glare with surprisingly wide green eyes. He swallowed and looked away.

"I don't know," he said.

"You don't know? How can you not know?" Yuki asked, feeling anger surge up in her. He was the one who took her, he didn't deny it. And he hadn't offered an explanation either. But he had somehow lost sight of her.

"Saix tracked us down. He took her," Axel explained. Yuki clenched her fists.

"You let her get taken by them?" Yuki asked. It was bad enough she had been taken. At least if Axel had her Yuki was fairly certain she wouldn't get hurt. Axel was not some kind of vicious person who delighted in others pain. He would at least be sure she wasn't hurt. But Saix, Yuki didn't trust him. He would torture her if he thought it would help the Organization get to Sora. He was a true heartless.

"I don't see why you're so upset," Axel said, frowning.

"Axel, she's my sister! Why wouldn't I be upset!?" Yuki snapped. Axel's head whipped to look at her, his eyes wide. He blinked a few times before lowering his gaze.

"I-I didn't think you remembered that," he muttered.

"Remembered what?" Yuki asked frowning.

"Nothing, it's nothing," Axel said quickly trying to brush it off.

"No it's not! Tell me! What do you know?" Yuki asked, leaning toward Axel. Were they always so far apart? Axel glanced over his shoulder at her and sighed.

"Kiu."

Yuki froze as the name left his lips. She stared at him in shock, blinking as her mind reeled. He couldn't have said what she thought he did. That just wasn't possible. Her hearing was failing along with her vision today. It was just constant weird thing after weird hallucinations.

"What?" Yuki asked.

"Kiu," Axel repeated, confirming Yuki hadn't misheard him. "That was your name, wasn't it?" he asked looking at her sadly.

"How did you know that? I haven't told anyone what my name was," Yuki asked. Axel sighed and looked away rubbing the back of his head like he always did.

"When I was a Someone, Kiu was practically my little sister. That kid could run all over town, and I was always the one watching her. Never bothered me, I liked the kid plenty. She was something else. When I met you, I thought you were familiar. I didn't know right away. I knew the letters of your name fit, but it could have been something else. I was never sure. But I always hoped," he explained quietly. Yuki stared at him in shock. She couldn't remember much about Kiu, just a few things. And Axel, he had almost known the entire time.

Yuki sighed looking away. She couldn't blame him for not saying anything. She didn't know until rather recently. And she never saw herself as Kiu. She wasn't Kiu.

"Axel, what are you trying to do?" Yuki asked.

"If Sora loses his heart, Roxas will come back. What better way to get to his heart than through one of his friends?" Axel asked. Yuki sighed again. He wasn't wrong. Sora's heart was tightly bound to his friends.

"She's my friend too," Yuki pointed out.

"Look, I wasn't expecting Saix to take her from me. I didn't mean for her to get hurt. I just want Roxas back," Axel explained. Yuki nodded, glancing at the space between them. The place for Roxas.

"So do I," she said. Axel looked at her hopefully. She looked away before continuing. "But, Y's right. A life is a life. We'll find a way to save Roxas, just not that way."

"What other options do we have?" Axel asked, desperation creeping into his voice. Yuki swallowed tears filling her eyes.

"I don't know," she forced out. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"Wish I knew Snowy, wish I knew," Axel said softly. Yuki sighed and closed her eyes, ignoring the tears falling down her cheeks.


	20. Chapter XIX

**Chapter XIX; Trust?**

X frowned glancing around the broken bits of the ground. He hadn't spent enough time in this world to really know where they were. Especially considering everything was broken down now. Even the castle looming in front of them was no help to him. Y, however, was moving easily, seeming to have a clear idea of where they were going.

"What even is this place?" X asked, glancing around.

"Castle of Ansem the Wise," Y answered. She glanced over her shoulder at X, seeing his confused expression she chuckled. She looked back up at the castle, her lips pressing into a thin line. "He took in the Terra-Xehanort as an apprentice and that's how we ended up in this mess. If we can find anything about the Organization's plans, it will be here."

"Ok, and old bandage guy sent us here why?" X asked.

"Computer around here somewhere with data he wants me to pull off of it," Y answered. X nodded again.

"And I had to come why?" he asked.

"Moral support," Y responded without a pause. X chuckled a little as her head tilted to the side. "And protection if I get attacked," she added.

"Ok," he agreed.

Coming to the front of the castle they were met with a brunette wearing a pink dress. She seemed to be watching the town from her position. Her eyes turned to them, opening slightly as she saw them.

"Oh, X was it?" she greeted, smiling warmly. X nodded, trying to remember her. He knew she was one of Sora's friends, but he didn't think he had caught her name. Or maybe he had and just forgotten it. He hadn't really paid much attention to the others. But, he figured guessing was better than admitting he had forgotten.

"Yup, that's me. You're Aeris, right?" he asked. Aerith laughed softly and shook her head.

"Aerith," she corrected. X cringed slightly but nodded. "Who's your friend?" she asked, looking at Y.

"My sister, Y," X said motioning to Y. She waved, smiling happily. Aerith seemed to consider something for a moment, her eyes overlooking Y. It took X only a moment to realize she was looking for some indication Y was a Heartless like him. After a moment Aerith smiled.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," she said bowing slightly. She turned her attention back to X. "Where's Sora?" she asked.

"We split off awhile ago," X said looking away and rubbing his shoulder.

"Oh, well that's too bad. There's a few things here we thought he'd be interested in," Aerith said, keeping her soft smile. X could guess she knew something had happened. He was glad she wasn't asking.

"Like what?" Y asked stepping forward just slightly. X cast her a nervous glance. She was always so easily able to approach people. It was an ability X never had, and he wasn't sure he would ever want it. Talking to people was exhausting.

"Ansem's computer for one," Aerith said. Y's eyes brightened as she glanced over at X with a quick smile. That would save them time.

"You wouldn't mind terribly if I took a look at it, would you? I'm pretty good with computers, so I could check it for problems," Y asked looking at Aerith hopefully. Aerith seemed surprised blinking a few times.

"I'd have to check with Leon first. And probably the King as well," Aerith. X frowned and crossed his arms. There had been no king here the last time he had checked.

"The King? You mean Mickey?" he asked. Aerith nodded.

"Awesome, if he's here I'm guaranteed a look at that computer," Y said pumping her fist as she jumped happily. X chuckled at her excitement.

"Leon!"

X froze looking over his shoulder. He recognized Sora's voice, even though he hadn't been around Sora that long really. But that was definitely Sora calling out to them. So that group was here too.

"Over here!" Aerith called back to them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy appeared, running up from the direction of town. Sora slowed seeing X, his eyes widening slightly. He glanced at Donald and Goofy who seemed to have similar reactions. Their eyes wandered from X to Y, this time they seemed confused, their heads tilting to the side. Sora brushed it off turning to look at Aerith.

"You guys found Ansem's computer?" Sora asked. Aerith nodded.

"Uh-huh. The King is very interested in it," she said.

"The King?" Donald asked.

"He's with Leon," Aerith explained.

"We get to see the king!" Donald cheered.

"Hooray!" Goofy cheered along. Y chuckled slightly earning a look from X. She brushed him off with a quick smile.

"Er, is Riku with them?" Sora asked stepping forward slightly. Aerith shook her head. Sora sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. This lasted for only a second before he straightened up again. "Well, at least I can ask the King about him. And that computer might be able to tell us something."

"Good idea! They're right through there," Aerith agreed, pointing to the castle behind them. She glanced over at X and Y. "You two should go too."

"Thanks," Y said with a bright smile.

The group silently made their way through the castle. Y led the way, humming to herself as she walked, skipping a few steps before walking again. X walked a few paces behind her, chuckling at her antics with his hands in his pockets. Sora, Donald, and Goofy trailed behind him, watching in almost shock.

"Hey, X," Sora said.

"Hm?" X asked not turning to look at Sora.

"Um, I just wanted to apologize," Sora said, looking away. X stopped turning to look at him, his head tilted to the side. Sora stopped looking up at X.

"For what? You did nothing wrong," X said. Sora blinked in surprise. Y stopped where she was, turning to look at X with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, we did. We kept asking questions about something you obviously didn't want to talk about. We should have trusted you more, and not asked," Sora said firmly. X shook his head.

"Wasn't one of the first things I told you not to trust me?" he asked.

"Yeah, but, you have a reason to keep the secrets you do," Sora said. X stared at him blankly, not saying a word. Y sighed heavily putting her hand on her hip.

"I don't know much about this kid, but I think you should accept the apology," Y said. X frowned looking over his shoulder at her.

"Really?" X asked.

"Yes really," Y said. She walked over to the group, keeping her eyes focused on X. "You're too hard on yourself. You have been for a long time. Let someone see the good in you for once."

"There is no good in me," X said simply. Y sighed heavily rolling her eyes. She looked at Sora with a look that read can you believe this guy?

"Lying. You have a good heart under it all. You just don't want to admit it," Y said. Sora smiled and nodded in agreement. X sighed, his shoulders dropping.

"Fine. It's alright Sora, I probably should have at least answered one of your questions. You had a lot of them," X said, looking off to the side.

"Yeah. But it's no big deal. Secrets are ok, sometimes," Sora said, crossing his hands behind his head. Y tried to hide her shocked intake of breath, but X caught it but said nothing. She had noticed too.

"When did you decide this?" X asked turning to look back on Sora.

"Yuki told us a little about you," Sora explained. X frowned. He didn't like the idea of Yuki being near Sora. With their first meeting, he wouldn't doubt her to turn on Sora. But he seemed to be alright. Maybe she had changed her mind.

"When did you see her?" X asked.

"Not long after you left. She was in the world right after for some reason. But she said you were one of the kindest people she knew," Sora answered smiling broadly. Y chuckled and poked X's cheek.

"Aw, Yuki likes you," Y said. X rolled his eyes pushing his sister's hand away.

"I have no idea why," X said. Y put her hands on her hips again, pouting as she leaned towards X.

"Because you babysat her for a year? Or maybe the sarcasm grew on her," Y said. X rolled his eyes again and pushing Y away. She let out a squeal as she regained her balance.

"Speaking of sarcasm I've had enough out of you."

"Payback," Y said with a sing-song quality to her voice. X narrowed his eyes at her.

"For what?" X asked.

"How many years have we known each other?" Y asked in turn. X frowned, his eyes narrowing even further as he tried to figure out what she was asking.

"All of the ones we've had," X answered.

"Ok, all of those years I put up with you," Y said. X blinked a few times. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked between the two, almost trying to decide if they should step in or run away.

"Fair enough I guess," X decided. He glanced over at the group, holding back a laugh at their expressions. "Oh, I should probably introduce you guys. Sora, Donald, Goofy, this is my twin sister, Y."

"I've met all of them. At least once," Y said waving off the introduction with on hand. She smiled broadly, putting her hands behind her back.

"You have?" Sora asked. Y chuckled and nodded.

"Uh-huh. You were super small, so I'm not surprised you don't remember," she said.

"I know, you were one of the ones who brought the King back!" Goofy said suddenly. X frowned glancing back at Y. She nodded smiling.

"Yup. Mickey is an old friend. Except he forgot to tell us he was a King," she pouted adding the last part as an afterthought.

"Us?" X asked.

"All of us," Y answered motioning wide with her arms. She dropped them, tapping her chin as she looked up. "Well, all of us but Terra. I don't know if he ever talked to Terra."

"Not that I know of," X said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Sora asked, tilting his head to the side and tapping his chin.

"A story for another time! More important matters to attend to," Y said turning and wandering farther into the castle. X chuckled and glanced at Sora. He motioned with his head, before following Y.

They reached the study, which seemed to be torn apart. Papers were strewn across the room and the only thing that looked untouched was a painting hanging on the wall. Sora stopped in front of the painting, staring up at it with clenched fists.

"Ansem," Sora said. X and Y glanced at each other looking at the picture. Y stepped forward slightly, her eyes seeming to glaze over. It was no secret why. X saw it too. Even with silver hair and amber colored eyes. It was Terra.

"Gawrsh, I guess this must be his room," Goofy said looking at the painting before glancing around the room.

"Where's the king?" Donald asked looking around.

"Hello?" Sora called out.

"Hey, you!"

The group spun around to see a woman wearing black with long dark haor. She glanced around the room quickly before returning her attention to Sora

"I'm looking for somebody. Have any of you seen a guy with spiky hair?" she asked. The entire group turned to Sora as he reached up and pulled one of his spikes. The woman laughed slightly. "Spikier." The group all shook their heads. X for one wasn't sure it was possible for anyone to have hair spikier than Sora's. "I'll just take a look around," the woman said. The woman looked around for a moment, kicking a wall before sighing and turning to look back at the group. "Sorry to bother you."

"No bother, ma'am," Sora, Donald, and Goofy all said straightening up quickly. The woman left the room and the group let out a relieved breath.

"What did that poor wall do to her?" Y asked in a whisper.

"So, you made it."

The group turned to see Leon leaning against a wall. Y frowned looking around. He was not there a second ago.

"Leon!" Sora said happily. He nodded. "Isn't the king with you?" Sora asked. Leon quickly brought his finger to his lip in a hushing motion.

"You'll see him soon enough," Leon said.

"Hey!" Donald said.

"Here, this ought to tie you over," Leon said turning his back on them. He pressed a part of the wall. It opened up revealing a pathway into what had to the computer room. "Ansem's computer room."

They entered into the room looking around in aw. Y's eyes went to the massive computer, while X looked behind it with a sour expression. That didn't look like a pleasant place. Sora ran up to the computer, immediately looking at the buttons in confusion.

"This is it! Where's Kairi? Where's Riku?" he asked, pressing keys at random. Y flinched as he slammed his hand down on the keys. Before she spoke up, Leon stepped forward.

"Easy... You wanna break it?" Leona asked putting his hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Oh, sorry. Guess I got carried away," Sora said sheepishly.

"Whoa!" Goofy said. The group jumped looking up to see a small blue creature on the ceiling.

"Hmm? Whoa!" the creature cried out as it fell onto the computer. Y gasped as she recognized the small dog-like creature.

"Get offa there!" Donald snapped, jumping onto the keyboard after the creature. It jumped on top of Donald then into Y's arms, laughing as it curled into her, watching Donald's anger grow. Donald turned to look at the creature, hitting a key that caused a blaring alarm to fill the room.

"Attention current user. This is a warning. Further misuse of this terminal will result in immediate defensive action," an ominous voice said, filling the room.

"Who's there?" Sora asked.

"I am the Master Control Program. I oversee this system," the voice replied.

"Where are you?" Sora asked. They were greeted with silence, the program didn't seem to think they needed an answer. Donald slowly took a step, his foot pressing another key.

"Donald!" everyone yelled as the alarm blared again.

"I'm sorry," Donald said slumping.

"Decision gate reached. You are now under arrest," the program said.

"Arrest!?" Sora cried out. The computer reacted, strange lights appearing through a different port. It reminded Y of the entrance to the digital Twilight Town, though showier. She and X ducked out of the way as Sora, Donald, and Goofy were taken into the computer.

Y looked up from where she was curled around the blue creature that had caused this. She blinked slowly looking down at the creature.

"Fluffy, look what you did," Y said softly.

"Fluffy?" X asked looking at his sister in confusion.

"Yeah, that's what I called him when we first met him. 626 didn't seem so great," Y explained, hugging Fluffy slightly.

"I agree with that. I called him Blue," X said looking down at it.

"Stitch!" the creature said, popping his head up.

"Oh, is that your name?" Y asked tilting her head to the side. Stitched nodded.

"Alright then, Stitch. Good to see you again," X said brushing his hand over Stitch's head.

"Ter-ra. Ah-koo-wah, Ven?" Stitsch asked. Y felt her smile dropped.

"They're not here. Don't worry though, as soon as we find them, I'll be sure they come see you," Y said, forcing herself to smile again.

"You've met that creature before?" Leon asked.

"Yeah. In his own world. It must be gone now," Y said sadly.

"It was a long time ago," X said, his voice noticeably dropping. Leon staid silent looking at the two in interest.

"Leon, is Sora here yet?"

Y turned, looking to see Mickey in the entrance. She smiled, though she felt X tense beside her.

"You just missed him. He got eaten by the computer," Y said. Mickey jumped hearing her voice. He turned quickly, gasping in surprise.

"Y! You're here," Mickey said in shock.

"Yup, stopping by for some research. I was hoping to get a look at that computer. But it might eat us if we touch it," Y explained glancing over at the computer nervously. She edged away from it warily.

"Gosh, I hope Sora's alright," Mickey said.

"He'll be fine," Y said calmly. Mickey nodded looking around the room. His eyes widened as they landed on X, he jumped back holding his arm, calling his keyblade to his hand. Leon jumped back in surprise looking between X and the King.

"What are you doing here?" Mickey demanded. X glanced over at Y calmly.

"Y says I'm moral support and protection for her," X answered. Mickey blinked in surprise, looking back at Y.

"You trust him?" Mickey asked.

"Uh-huh," Y said with a smile. She turned to X. "Speaking of which. X, what do you have to say to Mickey?" X sighed dropping his shoulders.

"Though I know my past actions are unforgivable, I'm sorry. I was foolish, stupid, and blind not to see Xehanort's intentions. I apologize," X said bowing to Mickey. He didn't look up, waiting for Mickey's reaction. He didn't expect him to forgive him, or even tolerate him. But he promised Y he would try.

"You believe him?" Mickey asked.

"I told you, you can kinda just tell when we change. And I promise, this, is what my brother was really like," Y said. X felt her hand rest on his shoulder, pulling him up to stand again. "I forgive him. And since I lost the most because of him, I think if I can forgive him you can at the very least tolerate him."

"I don't know," Mickey said, eyeing X warily. The last time they had met X remembered sending quite a large group of Heartless after the mouse. He had met to overpower him as quickly as possible. And it had worked.

"Master Yen Sid saw fit to allow him to help Sora," Y added calmly. X shot her a glare, but she didn't react.

"Oh, all right. But I still don't trust him," Mickey said firmly, banishing his keyblade.

"Probably smart," X said calmly. Y glared at him.

"We just had a discussion about his, didn't we?" She asked. X shrugged.

"Yeah, but old habits die hard. It will take a long time for me to start trusting myself again," he said, looking off to the side. Y sighed heavily looking back to Mickey.

"Mickey, why don't we look around the castle until Sora comes back. We can have a bit of a talk about what's happened," she said keeping her gaze on X. There was a lot to talk about.


	21. Chapter XX

**Chapter XX; Lies Uncovered**

It took some time for Y to explain why she had decided to trust X again after everything that had happened. She really couldn't give a concrete reason either. When she had seen him for the first time she had wanted nothing more than to make him pay. But seeing him there, crying on his knees. Some instinct in her rose up. He wasn't supposed to cry. She had to make him stop crying. She couldn't live without him. She needed him.

She couldn't lie and say she had trusted him right away again. She remembered flinching back from him when he said something. Feeling anger overwhelm her at times when she saw him. But she had pushed it aside. Her heart was made up even if her mind wasn't. She needed him. But she couldn't make Mickey understand what she didn't understand. So she stuck to the solid facts.

Mickey accepted Y's decision easier than she thought he would. But he was clearly still wary of him, glaring at him every so often as they made their way back to the computer room. Y nervously glanced at X, slipping her hand into his. He didn't look at her as his fingers laced with hers. He had been silent the entire time. His mind seemed to be elsewhere even now.

"Look at this! This must be the dataspace! The DTD. See? The Door To Darkness!"

Y frowned hearing Sora's voice as they entered the study again. He stood in front of the wall the picture of Terra-Xehanort had been on. The picture was now off to the side, leaning against a different wall. Words word scribbled where it had once been, and Y wasn't sure she would be able to read any of it.

"What do you know. But, that still leaves the password," Leon said, crossing his arms as he looked at the words on the wall.

"Say, fellas, did somebody mention the Door To Darkness?" Mickey said. The group whirled around to face them, smiling broadly.

"Your Majesty!" the trio said happily. Mickey shushed them putting a finger to his lips. He checked the hallway behind them before closing the door. He turned back to the group flipping his hood down. Donald and Goofy rushed forward greeting Mickey with hugs. Y held in a chuckle.

"Long time no see!" Sora said, still smiling. Mickey shushed him again, looking towards the computer room.

"The Organization might be listening!" he warned. Sora nodded, putting his finger to his lips to show his understanding. Donald and Goofy backed away from the King, letting him look around again. "You mentioned the Door To Darkness?"

"Uh, yes sir! Ya see, we're looking for the secret password," Goofy explained.

"Password?" Mickey echoed. The trio all sighed, dropping their shoulders in defeat. "Oh, I guess you mean like a code," Mickey said in realization.

"If the names a clue, then my bet is the princesses of heart," X said calmly motioning with the hand Y wasn't gripping. He leaned back against the wall shrugging.

"They are the way to open the Door To Darkness," Y agreed glancing from X to the trio.

"Of course," Leon said going into the computer room without hesitation.

"What're you trying to do?" Mickey asked.

"With that password, we can get access to Ansem's research data," Sora explained.

"So that means you might be able to find out where he is!" Mickey said. Y frowned glancing to the picture. There was another Ansem, wasn't there. A man of science that used to run this world.

"Stop jokin' around, Your Majesty. We already defeated Ansem. You know that," Sora said in confusion. He looked at Donald and Goofy. They looked just as confused as him, looking at each other before looking back to Mickey. Mickey frowned crossing his arms.

"Looks like I've got a lot of explainin' to do," he said.

"We're listening, Your Majesty!" Donald said.

"Okay, but first, I've got a question," Sora said.

"Hey, isn't Tron waiting for you guys?" Leon said from the door to the computer room. The group glanced at Leon before looking back at Mickey. Mickey smiled at them calmly.

"Don't worry, I'm not goin' anywhere. If those Heartless attack, I'll stand and fight with everybody here," Mickey said. Y nodded in agreement looking at X. He rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Yeah, we will, too," Sora agreed.

"Then let's talk more later," Mickey suggested.

"That's a promise!" Donald agreed.

"I'll see ya when you get back," Mickey said. The trio nodded and returned to the computer room. Y let out a breath and shook her head. Those three were filled with so much energy. It was no wonder they were chosen to be the heroes.

"I'm going to check out the situation in town," Mickey said, looking up at Y.

"We'll come too," she said looking at X. He nodded in agreement. He was still being too quiet. It worried Y.

Outside everything seemed strangely calm. There was no sign of Heartless anywhere. But Y could feel them, and entire mass. It almost felt like the realm of darkness. But it was far more tame. Fortunately.

"This isn't looking good," X said quietly, dropping Y's hand and taking a few steps forward. Mickey looked at him in confusion. He looked around for a moment, not seeming to realize what was wrong.

"No, it's not," Y agreed. Mickey turned his shocked look onto her, but she ignored him. She took a few steps forward, her eyes searching the sky. She stopped when she saw a familiar ravenette standing on top of a nearby building. Her lips were pursed together in a thin line as she stared at something Y couldn't see. "Hey! Yuki!" Yuki turned toward her, eyes widening slightly.

"Hey," Yuki called in greeting. She dropped down from the building she was on landing beside them with grace. "What are you two doing here?" she asked looking between the twins.

"I'm supposed to be looking at a computer, but I got distracted," Y said, putting up her hand. Yuki chuckled and looked at X.

"I'm just tagging along," x said nodding toward his sister.

"Huh," Yuki said with a nod. "Have either of you seen Sora? I promised I'd catch up with him," she asked turning to look around again.

"He's currently fixing the computer I'm supposed to be looking at," Y explained. Yuki sighed and dropped her shoulders.

"Ok then. Seems like something Sora would get himself stuck doing," she said. She gave a nervous smile and looked around again. Y followed her gaze. There was nothing, not yet anyway. "You guys can feel it too, right?" Yuki asked quietly.

"Yeah, it wasn't so strong inside. But outside, there's no denying it," X agreed.

"There are so many," Y said, holding her hands against her chest.

"And they're anxious," Yuki said. She turned back to the twins with her fist clenched. "They're going to attack soon. There's too much emotion in town."

"What are you guys talking about?" Mickey asked. Y jumped looking down at Mickey. She had forgotten he was there.

"Oh, Mickey, this is Yuki. She's another Heartless like me and X," Y explained. Mickey looked at Yuki warily, but he decided to ignore it. It was seeming that Heartless weren't exactly like what he had thought all along.

"Nice to meet ya, but what's goin' on?" Mickey asked.

"Uh, well," Y said nervously looking at Yuki.

"The Heartless are going to attack the city. The entire mass in the great maw plus more," X said calmly. Mickey gasped.

"Oh no! We gotta do something!" he said.

"We will, but first. We need to get Sora," Y said. They could probably handle it without Sora. But all the help they could get would make the problem smaller. And with as many Heartless as there seemed to be, their chattering filling the air, they could easily be overwhelmed. Sora had a talent for fighting the odds.

"I can stay out here and try to hold them back for as long as I can," Yuki said. Y nodded meeting Yuki's eyes. She wasn't sure what Yuki was capable of. But she was the boss, so it was probably best to leave her out here. They would maybe listen to her for the longest.

"Thanks, Yuki. We'll be out to help as soon as we can," Y said. Yuki smiled and nodded before jumping back onto the roof. She disappeared from sight quickly, heading towards the mass of Heartless.

Mickey led the way back to the computer room, looking trouble all the way. X and Y trailed behind, trying to keep their focus on the Heartless. It was hard with them being distant, but every little bit would help. Inside the computer room, they found Sora looking confused at a picture of a blonde man with orange eyes. Y noticed a few screens looked twisted and sideways, which was some kind of miracle. She didn't think Sora could break a computer that badly.

"Well, I see ya got things workin'!" Mickey said as he walked in. Y looked at him in disbelief, before looking at X.

"Oh, Your Majesty!" Sora said turning to look at Mickey. Mickey shushed them and walked into the room. X and Y remained by the wall, leaning on the doorway on either side.

"Good goin'. The computer should tell us the things we need to know," Mickey said looking over the computer.

"But it keeps on sayin' the data inside's all ker-skuffled," Goofy said looking at the computer. Sora nodded in agreement motioning to the screen.

"All we got is a picture of some guy we don't know," Sora said. Mickey looked up at the picture and jumped in surprise.

"Ansem the Wise!" Mickey said. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all looked at each other in confusion. Sora was the first to turn back to Mickey.

"Come on, are you teasing us again?" Sora asked.

"Did you forget what Ansem looked like, Your Majesty?" Donald suggested. Mickey shook his head.

"Of course not! This is him! I'm positive!" Mickey insisted.

"Huh?" Donald said. Sora frowned putting his hands on his hips. He seemed to think for a moment before Grabbing onto Mickey.

"Excuse me? Could you come this way, please?" he asked, dragging Mickey toward the study. X and Y sidestepped to allow him through before following him. They stopped in front of the portrait of Terra-Xehanort. "Look, THIS is Ansem. You know, the guy we all worked reeeally hard to defeat?" Sora said, pointing at the portrait.

"Oh, that's right. I never finished explaining," Mickey said as Sora released him.

"To be fair, we really didn't get a chance to start. Leon pulled them away before we could," Y pointed out from behind them. Donald looked between the two in confusion.

"What?" Donald asked.

"Well, the man in the picture is definitely the one who tried to take over Kingdom Hearts, the one you fellas defeated. But, what you actually fought was his Heartless. Ya see, he wasn't really Ansem. He just went around telling everybody that he was," Mickey explained calmly. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all looked at each other then to the picture. They remained that way for a moment, all seeming to be lost in confusion.

"You mean..."

"Ohh..."

"Hmm..."

"Whaaat?" they all yelled in unison.

"We went through all that trouble to defeat an imposter?" Sora asked.

"Yep. A fake," Mickey confirmed.

"But that doesn't mean he didn't need to be stopped. He was still a danger to everyone," X said calmly. Mickey began to nod in agreement but seemed to stop when he realized who had spoken. Y let out a heavy sigh.

"Aw, I can't believe it..." Donald said, his shoulders dropping as he slumped forward.

"Uh, I'm kinda confused. If he's a fake, then what happened to the real Ansem?" Goofy asked.

"Well, that's just what I'm tryin' to figure out. Ansem the Wise should know all about the Organization XIII's plans, and what's been happening to the worlds. I'm pretty sure he'll give us some help. Ya know, I came close to finding him once," Mickey said, trailing off at the end of his sentence.

"Don't tell me there's more," Sora said in exasperation. "I'm lost enough as it is!"

"Well, let's see. Some feller named Ansem, who wasn't really Ansem, became a Heartless. Does that mean a Nobody got created when that happened, too?" Goofy asked. Mickey nodded.

"Yup! And that Nobody is the leader of the Organization," he confirmed.

"Whaaat?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy said once again.

"I know I've met this fake Ansem before, and I've seen the leader of Organization XIII, too. Hmm, kinda felt like bein' around the same fella," Mickey said, tapping his chin. Y fought to say Terra's name. Or even Xehanorts. But the names caught in her throat, almost seeming to scratch her throat.

"So, where did you meet this guy?" Sora asked.

"Gosh, I can't remember. Ansem the Wise, the real Ansem, must know the imposter's true identity. That's why I've got to find him and ask him about it," Mickey explained. X opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, but he stopped. He couldn't find the strength to say it either. It was his fault in the end. Sora glared at the painting.

"You...! You started all of this! Because of you, Riku and Kairi..." he trailed off, not wanting to say what had happened to his friends. "Oh! Your Majesty, do you know where Riku is?" he asked turning to Mickey. Mickey looked away quickly.

"He's...I'm sorry. I can't help," Mickey said.

"Really, Your Majesty? Are you sure?" Sora asked.

"I'm sorry, Sora," Mickey said.

"What about Kairi? Organization XIII might've kidnapped her," Sora asked. Mickey jumped up, his eyes widening.

"Oh no! Sora, Donald, Goofy. I was plannin' to go get help from Ansem the Wise. But, now I know I forgot the most important thing. Helping others should always come before asking others for help. We're safe and sound, and free to choose! So there's no reason we shouldn't choose to help our friends. Let's look for Riku and Kairi together," Mickey said extending his hand. He was knocked off balance by an explosion and X felt a jolt in his chest. They had moved.

"Outside!" Sora yelled.

"Sounds like we gotta start by helpin' out here!" Mickey said. X nodded looking behind them.

"Looks like Yuki ran out of time," X said.

"We better help her," Y said. X nodded without much thought.

"Yuki's here!?" Sora asked. X nodded again.

"Yeah, she was trying to hold back the Heartless. Let's go," X said before taking off running.

Outside the group scattered. X staid close to the castle waiting for Sora and the other two on habit. Y threw herself into the fray, casting white magic on any of the allies she could find. X briefly caught sight of Yuki, who seemed to be managing to freeze small groups long enough to kill them or get them killed by others around her. X threw his dagger into a Heartless' eye as Sora joined him on the cliff side.

"Leon, everybody- hang in there!" Sora yelled. Before he could join the battle Mickey dropped down in front of him arm spread out to hold him back. Not that it would have done much if Sora really wanted to get past him.

"Ok, fellas, you've gotta go find Riku and Kairi!" Mickey ordered.

"But Leon and the others are friends too!" Sora objected.

"Don't worry. There's already lotsa help here. We'll take care of this fight," Mickey said. Sora clenched his fist, taking a step toward Mickey.

"But, I promised Leon!" Sora said.

"Donald! Goofy!" Mickey said. Both stood straighter at his call. "Take Sora and get goin'. X," X looked up in surprise hearing Mickey say his name. He was not expecting that any time soon. "You better go with them too. Master Yen Sid gave you a job."

"Right," X agreed looking at Sora. Sora stared down at his fist.

"Riku, Kairi, give me a little time, ok?" he said quietly. X looked to Donald and Goofy surprised to see them looking at him as well. He glanced toward the fight, then to Mickey, until his gaze landed on Sora. He looked back at Donald and Goofy, slightly nodding toward the battle. Donald and Goofy both straightened up.

"Your Majesty!" Donald said.

"We understand. We'll go search for Riku and Kairi!" Goofy said.

"Right. Watch for danger!" Mickey said not turning around to face them.

"You be careful too!" Donald warned. X thought it was a miracle Mickey didn't realize they were lying.

"Wait, you guys!" Sora pleaded.

"Sora, do as you're told!" Donald said in warning.

"You're comin' with us whether ya want to or not!" Goofy said. X rolled his eyes and nudged Sora.

"Sorry, can't afford to get on this guy's bad side again," X said. He winked and Sora slowly smiled, realizing what they were doing for him.

"Gotcha," he said with a nod.

"Well then, skedaddle!" Goofy said. Sora mouthed 'thank you' turning to face the battle.

"Let's go!" Donald said.

Without further word they all jumped into the battle, running toward the Heartless with weapons ready.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" Sora yelled not turning back.

"Hope you can forgive us!" Goofy called. X turned as he ran giving a mocking sort of salute.

"Just add this to the tab of all the times I lied!"

They ran into the battle hardly paying attention to where they were as they fought. X soon lost track of just how many Heartless he had killed, and he had no idea what the other three were doing. But this battle somehow felt more natural. Fighting was easier and he knew where his allies were even without looking.

They stopped fighting as all the Heartless all vanished. They quickly fell in back to back. X cursed under his breath as white cloaked figures surrounded them, their hoods up to mask their identities. His grip tightened on his dagger as he glared at the one ahead of him. She mockingly brought her finger to her lips.

"Huh? What's going on?" Sora demanded.

"They're not part of the Organization, are they?" Goofy asked looking around at the group.

"Not quite," X said.

"Organization, you say that like there's only one." X couldn't see the one who spoke. It was one of the ones behind him, in front of Sora. But he knew it was Syrine from the cold harshness in her voice.

"Some people are just that foolish I guess," Zakey said. X saw her move from the corner of his eye. She was in front of Goofy.

"Who are you people?" Sora asked, tightening his grip on his keyblade.

"We are the things you've been fighting this whole time," Syrine said. X could feel the way his companion's body language shifted. They shuffled on their feet, looking around in confusion still. "Wow, little dense, aren't you guys. Maybe, we should just show you."

X watched as the members each turned the back of their left hands towards the group. He saw the familiar colors of the Heartless emblem. In front of him one of silver and gold, colors opposite to Y's own emblem.

"Heartless?" Goofy asked.

"Human-looking Heartless. That's impossible," Sora said.

"But you know that's not true. You destroyed Ansem after all," Tayressa said somewhere behind X. He suspected the bosses were focused on Sora. The threat aside from X. He probably was facing the more elites. Aryum and Arykii.

"But, he was beneath us. If we were here to fight, you wouldn't stand a chance," Syrine said with a vicious laugh.

"Oh yeah, I'll show you," Donald said puffing up and raising his staff. X reached out and grabbed his staff to stop him from casting magic.

"Wise move, Dark's Keeper," Aysui said from behind him.

"If you're not here to fight what do you want?" X demanded not turning to face them.

"To see what becomes of this world. Our forces are strong here. And that witch thinks she's in command. We were curious to see if she would fall," Tayressa answered calmly. X snickered and shook his head.

"Maleficent or not, that's no reason to stop us," X said calmly.

"Just keeping an eye on our runaways. All three of you in one place," Syrine said.

"He had called for assistance. We were considering whether we should join the fray or not. Tell me Dark's Keeper, what do you think?" Tayressa asked. X smirked at her mocking tone. She well knew the position she was putting X in. But there was no time to worry about that.

"I think you should leave, before I get angry," X warned. He looked up and flashed his eyes yellow at Aryum. She stepped back, nodding toward the other side of the circle. X saw her eyes flash yellow beneath her hood, carrying his message.

"Of course. If that is your order. We dare not fight our master," Tayressa said.

"We'll be seeing you soon I expect. Don't get yourself in too much trouble," Aysui said calmly. They all vanished from in front of them in dark corridors. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and X all came out of their formation glancing around warily. X was silent as the other's eyes landed on him.

"What, was that?" Sora asked.

"What did it sound like?" X asked calmly.

"You're a Heartless?" Sora asked. X nodded, reaching down to the glove on his left hand. He pulled it off and showed his emblem to the group calmly.

"An elite one, yes."

"And there are more here now?" Goofy asked curiously.

"Y and, another, yeah," X agreed. It wasn't his place to tell Sora about Yuki. He would leave that for her to do later.

"That's part of your big secret. Isn't it?" Sora asked.

"A fair portion," X confirmed. He sighed heavily and looked up at the group. He was surprised none of them looked angry, only curious. "Listen, can we talk about this later? We have a town to save."

"Right. Let's go!" Sora agreed with a nod.


	22. Chapter XXI

**Chapter XXI; Chaos Ensues**

They managed to get halfway to the Great Maw before they were stopped. Standing in their path was a member of Organization XIII. X had hoped with the Heartless appearing the Nobodies might have decided to hold back, but it didn't seem they were in luck.

"Hey, you guys are looking lively," Demyx greeted with a friendly smile. X had hardly dealt with this member of the Organization, but he knew Demyx was one of the more laid back members. Maybe that would be in their favor.

"Scram!" Donald yelled.

"Didn't we catch you messing around in the Underworld? How'd a wimp like you get into Organization XIII?" Sora asked, crossing his arms. Demyx cowered back from him, rubbing the back of his neck as he desperately for an escape. "I bet you can't even fight."

"Yeah, but we can!" Donald said. Demyx turned back to them, waving his finger in front of him.

"You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance," Demyx warned. The group readied themselves for a fight, drawing weapons and focusing their glares on him. He turned away from them, bringing his hand to his mouth as if chewing his nails.

"I told them they were sending the wrong guy," Demyx said to himself.

"Who is this kook?" Sora asked, looking around to his companions.

"Remember, the Organization's made up of Nobodies," Goofy said. Sora nodded looking back to Demyx.

"Right, no hearts," Sora said. He jumped a little putting his hand to his mouth as he glanced over at X. "No offense." X smirked and rolled his eyes.

"None taken," X said. Demyx turned around to face them again.

"Oh, we do too have hearts! Don't be mad," he said, putting his hand on his hip.

"You can't trick us!" Donald said, ruffling his feathers. Demyx turned away from them again, soon turning around pointing at Sora was his blue eyes narrowed in a glare.

"Silence, traitor," he said with a deathly calm voice. He raised his hand over his head, water forming above him into the shape of his sitar. The blue instrument appeared in his hand. He spun it in front of him, playing a set of chords. "Dance, water! Dance!"

X cursed as he dodged out of the way of a water clone of sorts. He tried to focus on getting rid of them, but it was hard. They seemed to jump and move far to easily. And he definitely didn't like the way they spun their water sitars. After they managed to get rid of all the clones they focused on Demyx. Demyx was surprisingly agile for the well known laziest of his organization. But soon enough they were able to deal the last blow.

Demyx stumbled back, dropping his sitar and looking at his hands as black smoke twisted off of him.

"No Way!" Demyx cried as the black and white smoke spiraled around him, slowly fading back into the nothing he had spawned from. X felt his stomach twist as he watched. That was how they all turned out in the end. Wasn't it?

"Anyone from the Organization who'd like to be next?" Sora called out triumphantly. X turned and looked at him in shock. Was he the only bothered by watching someone just die?

"Hey, Sora! Don't antagonize them!" Donald said.

"Yeah, we gotta go help our friends out first," Goofy said. Sora laughed nervously rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh. Sorry," Sora said. X frowned looking away to where Demyx had faded.

"Then let's go!" Donald ordered.

The group began to make their way deeper into the battle but were stopped before they much farther.

"Aha! There you are!" The group all froze and turned to face Mickey. They stared wide-eyed at the mouse as he approached them, his expression hard to read. He let out a sigh and looked up at them with a smile. "You sure have lotsa friends to help. So, I guess we better all pull together and finish this battle for good!" Mickey said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy said, straightening up to salute him. X only nodded calmly. Mickey walked a little way away from them directly into the path of an oncoming boulder.

X didn't really know what was going on until it was too late. Goofy was on the ground, Donald, Sora, and Mickey crouched beside him. They were saying something, but X was still trying to piece together what had happened. Was Goofy dead? After such a simple thing?

Mickey walked away from Goofy, yanking off his black coat and summoning his keyblade. X blinked in surprise. Maybe things were pretty bad. Mickey took off running down the ravine trail, the trio and X following after him. Soon they were stopped by a group of Heartless.

"Sora, did you miss me? Yuffie is on the scene!"

As her voice rang out Yuffie jumped into the fight, throwing her windmill across the ravine and taking out a fair number of the Heartless. She joined them in a short fight, taking out the remaining Heartless.

"All right! Get along!" she said, flashing a smile as she nodded down the ravine. Sora smiled and nodded before taking off again. They didn't get far before they were ambushed by another group of Heartless. Luckily they were again joined by help.

"I'll help out!" Leon said shooting a Heartless from across the path, then cutting down one beside him. With the extra help, the Heartless group died out quickly. "Go!" Leon said.

He hadn't needed to give them the order. Sora was already running the moment they had an opening.

They went through two more members of the restoration committee. The girl who had kicked the wall and Cloud. They both were a great help, taking down enough Heartless to clear the way. At the very edge of the trail, they met Yuki and Y, fighting back to back.

"Look who's finally here," Y said sarcastically. She held her keyblade up, casting a light spell that killed a good portion of Heartless on her side.

"Hey, I'm sure they've been a little busy," Yuki said glancing over her shoulder. She turned her attention back to the Heartless in front of her, freezing them with a glare.

Sora joined the fight and quickly got rid of the Heartless around them. Yuki smiled at Sora after the battle finished. No words were exchanged as they walked to a crystal cove. They met up with Mickey who looked like he had gone a few rounds of his own.

"Are you ok?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but," Sora trailed off.

"Ohh, Goofy," Donald said shaking his head. Y and Yuki exchanged a look with each other before looking at X. Before X could explain he was stopped.

"Hey fellas!"

They all turned and saw Goofy joining them from the path.

"Goofy!" Sora yelled in unison with Mickey and Donald as they ran over to him.

"Ya know, that really hurt!" Goofy said.

"Aw, Goofy!" Mickey said, hugging Goofy.

"What did we miss?" Y asked leaning over to X.

"Goofy got hit on the head with a rock and everyone thought he was dead," X whispered back as the group in front of them exchanged words.

"Did they try healing him?" Y asked.

"No," X said. Y blinked a few times then shook her head.

They were rejoined by the group and made their way to the Great Maw. Thousands of Heartless stood idle, seeming to be waiting for a command. Mickey stopped looking around in confusion. He had expected a battle.

"Huh?" Mickey said.

"What's with them? Are you doing this?" Sora asked looking at X. Yuki and Y both looked surprised Sora knew to ask X. X only shook his head.

"Not me," he said. He cast a glance to Yuki and Y, both of whom shook their heads.

"Hey!" Goofy yelled pointing toward a cliff. Looking up they saw a cloaked figure with silver hair. Even from a distance, it wasn't hard to tell who it was. X looked to Y nervously, seeing her face pale greatly.

"It's the guy who's NOT Ansem!" Donald said.

"You mean it's his Nobody!" Goofy corrected.

"The leader of Organization XIII," Sora said, tightening his grip on his keyblade.

"Xemnas," Y whispered.

"Wait a minute. Now I know!" Mickey yelled. The group all looked at him expecting his continuation. "Now I remember! Xehanort! Ansem's apprentice! The leader of Organization XIII is Xehanort's Nobody!" Mickey said. X glanced to Y in confusion. She already knew, had she chosen not to tell Mickey? Did Mickey not realize this was the same Xehanort?

Mickey took off running up the cliff to meet Xemnas, and before X could say anything Y was on Mickey's tail.

"Y!" X called after her.

"She's a big girl, she'll be fine," Yuki said as the Heartless suddenly moved. They were quickly surrounded by the Heartless, Armored Knights and Guardians mostly, but it was enough.

"No, she won't!" X snapped back, quickly turning on Yuki with a glare. Yuki returned the glare, her eyes flashing yellow in warning.

"X! She knows what she's doing! Trust her!" she snapped. X grit his teeth turning to the Heartless around them. The sooner they were gone the sooner he could get to Y.

"Move it!" Sora ordered.

"We can't let Xehanort get away!" Donald said. X flinched at the sound of his name.

"Right!" Sora agreed. He glanced over at X. "Can you make them leave?" he asked. X shook his head.

"Not this many. We'll have to fight through them," X said.

"Then let's move," Yuki said. She was the first to jump into the battle. X supposed having two keyblades was enough of an advantage for her to not have to worry. That and she really didn't have to worry much about them trying to fight her too hard. If she had learned anything.

X quickly lost track of Donald and Goofy in the battle. He could still see Sora, but there were too many Heartless between them for him to be able to help Sora. He did his best to take out as many of the Heartless as he could. He had to remember to tune out their screams. They were so confused. He shook his head as he knocked down another Guardian. He couldn't waste time feeling sorry for the lost.

It was soon enough they regrouped, with only minor injuries. X had to look away from Sora who had a long scratch down his arm with dried blood. Yuki a few bruises on her face, but looked otherwise unharmed.

"Where's the King?" Sora asked.

"There he is!" Donald yelled, pointing to Mickey was. Y was beside him, her keyblade drawn and at the ready.

"C'mon!" Sora yelled as he led the charge toward Xemnas, Mickey, and Y. They joined just in time to hear Mickey yell at Xemnas.

"Xehanort!"

"How long has it been since I abandoned that name?" Xemnas asked turning to face them slowly. His eyes skimmed over them, seeming almost bored.

"Out with it, Nobody! Where's Kairi? Where's Riku?" Sora demanded. Xemnas turned to Sora slowly, keeping his apathetic expression as he considered the young wielder.

"I know nothing of any Kairi," Xemnas said calmly. "As for Riku...Perhaps you should ask your king." He looked to Mickey as he began to open a dark corridor around his body so he could disappear.

"Stop!" Mickey yelled. He jumped forward into the dark corridor just as it closed.

"He's gone..." Sora said in shock. He fell to his knees a slammed his fist onto the ground. Yuki knelt beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Sora," she said softly.

"Way to fall right into their trap."

The entire group jumped and turned to see who had spoken. X frowned seeing Axel leaning against the mouth of the cavern. His arms were crossed and he seemed almost bored. "C'mon, it's a set-up by Organization XIII. Xemnas is using you to destroy the Heartless- that's his big master plan," he continued not hearing a response from the group.

"Xemnas?" Donald asked.

"The guy you just saw. He's their leader. Got it memorized? X-E-M, N-A-S," Axel said, leaning forward and tapping his temple. X frowned, it had been a while since he had used the catchphrase. X had hoped he had forgotten about it.

"Organization XIII wants to get rid of the Heartless?" Goofy asked in confusion. Axel sighed heavily.

"Man, you're slow," he said. His bright turquoise eyes turned onto X. "X, why don't you explain to your friends there?" he asked. X clenched his fist as he felt the trio's gaze land on him.

"Because that would mean I'm doing work for you. And you know what I think about finishing one of your jobs," X said calmly. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Snowy, Y?" he prompted.

"Axel," Yuki said in warning. Sora looked at her in shock for a moment. But her eyes remained focused on the redhead. Y didn't say a word, keeping her gaze even.

"Every Heartless slain with those keyblades releases a captive heart. That is what the Organization is after," Axel explained calmly.

"So what are those guys gonna do with the hearts?" Donald asked.

"I'm not telling," Axel said crossing his arms and looking away.

"Tell us!" Donald demanded.

"Ask one of them," he said nodding toward the three Heartless who all stood together. "They all know."

"You...you're the one who kidnapped Kairi!" Sora said suddenly. Axel chuckled.

"Bingo. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" he said. Sora clenched his fist and stepped forward toward Axel.

"Where is Kairi?" Sora asked. Axel turned away from him, rubbing the back of his head like he did when he was nervous. X wasn't sure what Axel thought he could gain from taking a princess of heart, but then again, Axel wasn't always one to think. "Please. Just tell me!" Sora said.

"He doesn't know," Yuki said softly. Once again Sora looked at her confused. X wondered if Yuki was trying to tell Sora the truth without directly stating it. If she was, it wasn't likely to work.

"Look, about Kairi...I'm sorry," Axel said, breaking the silence.

"Axel!" a dark voice said as a blue-haired figure appeared between the group and Axel. Axel quickly stepped back, fear crossing his face.

"Uh-oh," Axel muttered. He summoned a dark corridor and disappeared through it. Sora tried to chase after him but was stopped by the man holding out his arm. X wasn't very good at remembering this one's name. Y knew him though. Saix, or something.

"We'll ensure he receives the maximum punishment," Saix said calmly.

"I don't care about any of that! Just let me into the realm of darkness, ok!?" Sora demanded.

"If it's Kairi you're worried about, don't. We're taking very good care of her," Saix said. His voice never seemed to change, keeping in a low tone.

"Take me to her," Sora said.

"Is she that important to you?" Saix asked. Sora nodded looking down.

"Yeah. More than anything," he admitted. Saix scoffed, his harsh yellow eyes glaring at Sora with a hatred that spoke of loss. X wasn't sure how he knew, but the darkness that came from Saix, it wasn't the same as Xehanort. It was filled with pain.

"Show me how important," Saix said. Sora thought for a moment before bowing in front of Saix. X heard Yuki gasp, but she didn't move.

"Please," Sora begged, his voice cracking slightly.

"So, you really do care for her. In that case," Saix said, taking a moment as if considering what his answer would be. "The answer is no." Sora jumped back to his feet, angrily glaring at Saix.

"You rotten!" he snapped.

"Are you angry? Do you hate me? Then take that rage, and direct it at the Heartless," Saix said calmly. He snapped his fingers calling a group of armored knights to him. He looked up to the sky as the group all drew their weapons again. "Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts. And yet they know not the true power of what they hold. The rage of the keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free...until they weave together to make Kingdom Hearts. And when that time comes, we can truly, finally exist."

X glared as he brought a dagger to one of the Heartless, keeping them back and away from the group. Saix was talking too much. Sora had frozen where he was.

"What in the world do you think you're prattling on about?"

X froze hearing that voice. Maleficent. She appeared between Saix and the group in her usual burst of green flames. Her arms were spread wide as she kept her back to them.

"Kingdom Hearts belongs to me! The heart of all kingdoms, the heart of all that lives. A dominion fit to be called Kingdom Hearts must be MY dominion!" she said firmly.

"Maleficent, no! No more Heartless!" Sora yelled.

"I do not take orders from you!" Maleficent said angrily. She summoned a group of Heartless to attack Saix. He scoffed at her raising his hand.

"Fool," he said as he snapped his finger. A group of Nobodies appeared, quickly taking down Maleficent's Heartless then turning on Sora.

"Oh no!" Sora said. The group all raised their weapons, preparing for the worst. Before they had to defend themselves, Maleficent got between them, a wall of green flames pushing them back.

"While I keep these creatures at bay, you devise a way to vanquish them- forever!" she ordered.

"Maleficent," Sora said softly. She glared at him over her shoulder.

"Do not misunderstand me. I shall have my revenge on you yet," she said. No sooner than she spoke a group of Dusks attacked her, pulling her away from them.

"Maleficent!" Sora yelled.

"Leave! Now!" she ordered.

"I don't take orders from you!" Sora said stepping toward the fire wall. X grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"I don't like her any more than you, but we need to get out of the way at least," X said calmly. Yuki grabbed onto Sora's other shoulder, catching his attention.

"She won't last long and Saix won't hold back against you," Yuki said.

"Sora! C'mon!" Donald insisted.

"But...what about..." Before he could finish his thought the fire died out and Maleficent was gone.

"Now then. Where did we leave off?" Saix asked calmly. He snapped his fingers, making the Nobodies disappeared. They were replaced by more Heartless, yet again. Sora grit his teeth raising his keyblade.

"Which side are you guys on anyway?" he asked.

"Who ever's the strongest and gives orders they like apparently," Yuki said in annoyance readying her own keyblades. Saix flicked his hand and the Heartless started forward. Yuki, X , and Y all stepped forward their eyes glowing yellow as they tried to hold back the Heartless. They froze where they were. X could hear a gasp from Sora, but he didn't have time to think. He had to stop the Heartless.

"It appears you finally show what you are capable of," Saix said calmly. He flicked his wrist again, trying to make the Heartless break free. When they couldn't he snapped summoned more Heartless that made a beeline for Sora.

The trio broke their command and attacked the Armored Knights, releasing captive hearts into the sky. X fell back beside Sora spinning his daggers as he slashed back the Heartless.

"No! The hearts!" Sora yelled.

They were quickly surrounded. X watched Sora, who was refusing to do any more than block. His eyes fell to the ground, his keyblade at his side unmoving. X grit his teeth and jumped in front of him, killing an Armored Knight by stabbing a dagger into its head. How could he be so stupid? This wasn't the time to think. It was time to act.

"Open your eyes Vanitas!" X snapped. He froze as the name left his mouth, flinching slightly. Sora looked up at him in confusion.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Sora, we'll talk later. But first, you have to make it through this fight alive," X said calmly. It was a stupid mistake. He had known Sora was far different than Vanitas. Why had he slipped up? Vanitas was gone, had been for years.

"But, everything we've done. Maybe it was all for nothing. What am I supposed to do if I can't use the keyblade!?" Sora asked. He blocked a hit from another Heartless but made no move to attack still. X grit his teeth.

"Fight. Yuki and Y have known for ages, and do you see them slowing down? You can't not fight the Heartless, so we find a way to stop them from succeeding later in the game," X said. Sora looked away, almost being hit if Goofy hadn't blocked at the last moment.

"But...how?" Sora asked.

X wished he could have answered Sora. But he didn't have a ready answer. It was more of a guess and check. Make a plan as they go. Sora slowed again at X's silence. X turned just in time to see a Heartless aiming for his back. He wouldn't be able to move fast enough.

"STOP!"

The order echoed in the air, followed by a light, though X wasn't sure it was really light. It was grey, streaked with all the colors X could think of and even more. And it felt warm, like home. It was so familiar X was certain he had seen this power before. But he couldn't place where. Or perhaps when was a more accurate term. Whatever it was, X closed his eyes flinching back, the warmth wasn't welcome.

"What's this place?"

X opened his eyes to find them standing in total darkness.

"This must be the Realm of Darkness!" Sora said looking around excitedly.

"No, definitely not," X said looking around. There was oddly enough, more light in the Realm of Darkness. The glowing blue rocks and stars if you were in the right place.

"Kairi! Riku!" Sora yelled, ignoring X.

"Who's there!?" Donald called. They turned to see Donald running toward a hooded figure. Before he reached him however the figure disappeared leaving behind a box. Donald picked up the box and looked it over as the others joined him. "What is it?" Donald asked.

"Are ya sure you wanna open-" Goofy began to ask. Donald opened up the box before Goofy could finish his thought. "-that?"

Inside the box was a photograph and a bar of sea salt ice cream. Donald pulled the picture out and handed it to Sora. X frowned looking at the picture. It was the kids from Twilight Town with Roxas beside them. X frowned his eyes landing on Roxas.

"Gawrsh, it's the gang from Twilight Town. There's Hayner, Pence, Olette...and, uh, um..." Goofy said, trying to figure out who the last was.

"Roxas," Sora said. X looked at him with wide eyes. How had he known that?

"Do you know him?" Donald asked.

"No. The name just popped into my head. This is Roxas," Sora said simply. His finger brushed over Roxas in the picture. X frowned turning his attention back to the box. Donald pulled the ice cream out of the box.

"Are you sure you wanna eat-" Goofy began. This time X was the one who ignored him, taking the ice cream from Donald and taking a bite from it. Donald glared at him, but X ignored the glare looking back at Sora. "-that?"

"Sea-salt ice cream. Best ice cream in all the worlds, pretty popular in Twilight Town," X explained calmly. The ice cream began to glow and float, much to X's annoyance. Sora unlocked the gate on instinct.

"Not yet! I gotta look for Kairi!" Sora said.

"I promise, she's not here," X said simply. Sora nodded, slowly looking down.

"How's it looking?" Cloud asked turning to Yuffie. The black-haired girl crossed her arm as she looked around the Great Maw.

"Nothing, Leon hasn't seen any, and Aerith said the town is completely empty now too. No more Heartless," she said. She looked back at Cloud, frowning. "Do you think it was that light?"

"Must have been," Cloud said calmly. "We should find the others." He slowly walked away toward the city. Yuffie nodded following him at a light jog.

They reached the edge of the city, not a single Heartless remaining. It was an eerie silence after such a long battle that had ended in the blink of an eye. At the edge of the city, they saw Leon standing next to Aerith who was sitting on the ground with a small ravenette resting her head in her lap. Y stood to Aerith's other side looking at the ravenette in concern.

"Yuki!" Yuffie said, running the rest of the way to the group. "What happened?"

"Don't know," Aerith admitted. She looked up at Y. Y frowned, crossing her arms and biting her lower lip.

"I don't know either, I've- I've never seen something like that before. I guess we just have to wait for her to wake up. Maybe she can tell us," she said. Yuffie nodded, looking around at the group. They all wore similar looks of worry.

Y doubted Yuki would be able to explain it. She had just acted, seeing Sora in danger. The light was so sudden. So bright. Leon had said it almost hurt, but Y hadn't thought so. To her it was warm. But everyone else seemed to think it was something dangerous, and seeing what it had done to Yuki, Y figured they were right.


	23. Chapter XXII

**Chapter XXII; Land of Dragons**

X leaned against the wall of the gummi ship, his arms crossed as he watched Sora, Donald, and Goofy. He hadn't realized how much he had missed this ship, even if it was so slow and Donald and Sora were always fighting about who got to drive and there was nothing to do except play card games while they traveled. It was a peace X wasn't used to, but one that set him more at ease than he could remember being in a very long time. While he had been with Y he had found his mind wandering to what Sora was up to, even sending Heartless to check up on the keyblade wielder.

"A photo and some ice cream? Hmm. Wonder if they're some sorta clue. And who woulda left 'em for us, anyway?" Goofy said, pulling X out of his reminiscing.

"Riku?" Sora suggested.

"Ya think?" Goofy asked.

"How'd you draw that conclusion?" X asked. Sora turned in his chair to look at X. He looked at him for just a moment before answering.

"Just this feeling I got," Sora said, smiling brightly at X. X only raised an eyebrow, hoping for more explanation. There had to be a reason Sora took so long to answer. Sora offered no more explanation though, just turning back to face the direction their ship was going.

"Look! We're almost there!" Donald said, pointing to Mulan's world, The Land of Dragons according to Jiminey.

"Hey, what if the Heartless are back again? I can't use the keyblade- that would only help the Organization," Sora said, his shoulders slumping as he looked at the world. He was frowning his eyes seeming to stare past the world.

"But Sora, I think you have to use it. If we don't fight 'em, the Heartless'll keep on hurtin' folks," Goofy said. X nodded in agreement as Sora looked over at them.

"Goofy's right. As I said before, we just have to find another way to stop them," X said. He offered Sora a small smile, which the brunette returned as they landed the gummi ship. They stood in the burnt remains of the village they had been supposed to protect. X frowned glancing around. Strange place to land.

"I wonder how everybody's doin'?" Goofy asked as he looked around.

"Look!" Donald said, pointing toward the edge of the village. Toward the mountain's summit. Standing in the snow was a figure in a black coat. X tensed as he took note of the coat, small details were usually all the clues they could get to identify the member until a fight started. It came as a surprise when the cloaked figure took off running up the mountain.

"Wait!" Sora yelled following him.

"Sora!"

Sora paused just long enough to turn and see who had yelled. Mulan ran up to join them, panting heavily.

"Mulan, hey. No time to talk. We gotta catch that guy!" Sora said, pointing where the man had disappeared.

"I'm following him, too!" Mulan said, not stopping as she headed up the mountain. The group exchanged a look before following her.

"Then let's go!" Donald said. X rolled his eyes, the remark was late but it wasn't worth making a remark.

They followed the cloaked figure up to the summit where he appeared to disappear. X frowned as he looked around. Had they been led into an ambush? It was odd, if it was a member of Organization shouldn't they have been attacked by now? Why were they running? Which member was it anyway?

"Looks like he got away," Mulan said with a sigh, turning to look at the group.

"How come you're after somebody from Organization XIII?" Goofy asked. Mulan tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"What is that?" she asked.

"The guy in black," Sora explained.

"One of the bad guys!" Donald added, jumping up a little like he often did when talking. X assumed he didn't want to be overlooked.

"I knew it! There's a rumor in the Imperial City about a spy in black, lurking in the mountains. I'd been up here tracking him, but when you arrived I lost him," Mulan explained. Sora grinned nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry!" Goofy said.

"Don't apologize, Mulan said without a pause. "But I do wonder where he went." She looked around the summit. It was such an open space, disappearing would be a hard trick to pull off. She gasped suddenly.

The group turned quickly to see what had surprised her. At the top of the mountain, there was a swarm of the same Heartless as the last time they had been there. X held back a groan. It was such a large group, he didn't have the energy for this.

"Again?" Donald complained.

"X, can you do something?" Sora asked, glancing at X. X shook his head, summoning his daggers to his hands.

"No, I mean, maybe," X admitted. If he wanted to use all his energy he could probably get rid of them all. It would be difficult since he was only a knight. "But it's honestly easier just to kill them."

"Ok, first things first!" Sora said, drawing his keyblade.

The good thing about these Heartless was they were easy to kill. It took only one hit to release the hearts they held captive. Soon the sky was filled with pink hearts and the Heartless were gone. Sora was a bit away from the rest of the group, staring at something that wasn't there anymore.

"Are you ok, Sora?" Donald asked.

"Did ya get 'im?" Goofy asked. X was momentarily confused but brushed it off. He had probably just failed to notice the cloaked figure reappearing during the fight. And apparently getting away again too.

"Oh- he's gone," Sora said, coming out of his thinking. His hands crossed behind his head as he looked at Donald.

"What!? You lost him?" Donald said.

"Easy Donald, not like you caught him," X said with a chuckle. Donald glared at him, but X didn't pay him much mind. What could he really do?

"Anyway. What now?" Sora asked looking around.

"I think that we better get rid of all the Heartless first," Goofy suggested. He jumped a little his hand going to cover his mouth as he glanced down at X. "Well, most of them." X sighed heavily.

"You all can relax. You don't have to specify every time. I think we get the picture. I am an exception. It doesn't need to be constantly stated," X said calmly. Mulan tilted her head to the side, but no one offered to explain it to her.

"Sorry, it's just so weird to think. You seem so normal," Sora said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked down at the snow nervously.

"How did ya lose your heart anyway?" Goofy asked. X frowned, thinking back to the day in the forest. The Neoshadow that had sought him out. It wasn't hard to know. It had been sent.

"Neoshadow took it. It's kinda a long story how that all happened, I'll tell you guys when we have the time," X said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Promise?" Sora asked.

"Promise," X agreed.

They were distracted by a rumble that shook the entire mountain. X frowned, trying to locate the source of the sound. The others looked around similarly.

"What was that?" Mulan asked. No one could give her an answer. She pursed her lips together and turned back to the village. "Come on, we better get off the mountain."

"Ok," Sora agreed.

They began to pick their way down the mountain, careful not to fall on the snow. They weren't far from the summit when a roar filled the air, shaking the ground. The entire mountain shook as a Heartless much like a dragon broke free from the snow. It roared again before flying toward the city.

"It's heading for the city! We've got to warn Shang!" Mulan said.

With no prompting, they took off running. It seemed like an impossible task. Beat a dragon that could fly to a city that was miles away. But they seemed to manage it. Arriving at the city with no sign of the Heartless causing terror. Three soldiers that they had trained with were in the courtyard looking unsurprised.

"Huh? Everything's fine," Sora said as he looked around.

"Well, now, look who decided to show up," one of the soldiers said. He was the shorter one who had started the fight with Sora and Donald.

"What? Is that a problem?" Donald asked.

"Nah!" The tall thin soldier said.

"We're just glad you're not in black cloaks," the, uh, large soldier said.

"You saw him?" Mulan asked.

"Yeah- he's in the palace," the first soldier said dismissively. X stared at him in disbelief.

"And you guys are just standing here?" X asked.

"To the palace, hurry!" Mulan said.

They ran to the palace doors, Sora not stopping until he was banging on the door with his fist. Donald and Goofy joined him while X stood back looking over the front of the palace looking for some kind of entrance they could use.

"Open up!" Sora yelled.

"Over here!" Mulan called. She was standing beside one of the pillars. It took only seconds for them to realize what she meant. Sora ran to the pillar and began climbing up it with ease, all his days on the island showing. Donald and Goofy followed him up, X trailing after them with ease.

Inside the palace, they found a hooded figure in front of the doors to the throne room. It took only a moment for X to realize it was a different person than the one they had seen previously.

"Wait!" Mulan yelled. The figure stopped, slowly turning to face them his hands up beside him. Sora took a step toward the figure.

"Riku?" Sora asked. The figure chuckled and took off his hood, showing dark hair streaked with silver. X groaned in annoyance. It had to be Xigbar, of all other members.

"No. Never heard of him," Xigbar said with a grin that stretched the scars on his face.

"Lying," X said calmly. Sora jumped turning to look at him. The Organization had kept track of Sora for so long, it would be impossible for them to not know who Riku was.

"Says the liar," Xigbar shot back.

"No one asked you, Xigbar," X said calmly. Xigbar smirked and snapped his fingers, summoning a group of Nobodies to him. X groaned again drawing his daggers as the others prepared to fight.

Fighting the Nobodies took all the attention the group had. They like Xigbar himself had a tendency to warp around the area, disappearing before they could be hit only to shoot at you from across the room. It was fortunate it didn't take long for them to be beaten. During the fight however it seemed Xigbar had sneaked away.

"Guess it wasn't Riku," Goofy said.

"That was a different one than we saw earlier. Shoulders on the coat had some differences," X said, putting his daggers away again. He received a strange look from Sora, but he didn't bother explaining himself.

"Sorry, Sora. I can't stay. I'm worried about Shang," Mulan said, pulling their attention back to the situation at hand.

"Oh! Right!" Sora said.

They entered the throne room finding Shang and the Emperor seeming too calm, considering the palace had just been invaded.

"Your Excellency! Shang! Something terrible has happened! We saw a huge monster fly out of the mountains towards the city," Mulan said, not wasting a second. The emperor nodded solemnly, looking to Shang.

"Ahh. So it is as the young man said. Isn't that right, Captain?" he said. Shang nodded, a sour look on his face.

"Y-yes, Your Excellency," he agreed.

"You see, a young stranger visited us not long ago. The Captain fought the visitor, but was quickly defeated," the Emperor explained turning back to them calmly.

"To my dishonor," Shang agreed.

"It seems that young man was the one in black that I have heard whispers about," the Emperor continued, ignoring the sourness that was radiating off of Shang. The captain apparently didn't take well to being beaten.

"Did he mention the name Riku?" Sora asked tentatively.

"He didn't offer his name. He was rather rude," the Emperor said. Sora practically jumped for joy, smiling happily.

"Rude? Then it was Riku!" he said.

"Riku's in the Organization?" Donald asked in confusion. X held back a chuckle. They were seeming to forget their own king had worn the coat. Though he supposed Riku wasn't as easy to explain away. The king had been hiding.

"Gwarsh," Goofy said.

"The Imposter," X said suddenly, the thoughts connecting in his head. He hadn't paid that much attention to the Imposter, it wasn't his problem. But someone had fought him and lost. It was Roxas, right? He shook his head and noticed he was getting strange looks from the others again. He brushed them off mouthing later. They didn't have time.

"But why would he come here?" Mulan asked. Before she could get an answer a rumble shook the palace, send the group standing off balance. "I'll check outside," Mulan said.

"Mulan!" Shang said. Mulan stopped to look at him with a stern expression.

"Shang—guard the Emperor! I'll be fine with them!" Mulan said.

"That's right!" Sora said, nodding in agreement.

"Indeed. That is true: We need not worry while you protect us," the Emperor said.

"Hurry!" Donald yelled as they ran out to the courtyard.

Outside they found themselves face to face with the Heartless dragon. It circled above them giving almost no opportunity to attack it. Sora eventually managed to use the aero left behind by the dragon to jump on to its back and bring it down to where the others could hit it. It didn't take long for the pattern to take hold and the dragon fell.

They returned to the palace, meeting the Emperor and Shang again. Everyone had been unharmed, and minimal damage had been caused to the courtyard.

"Once again, you have served China well. It would please me to reward you," the Emperor said calmly. X frowned glancing to the others. Donald had a glint in his eyes that couldn't mean anything good. "What is it that you wish?" the Emperor asked.

"Well, you say a guy in black came to see you. What did he say?" Sora asked.

"That is all you request?" the Emperor asked. Donald tried to speak up, but X kicked him lightly before he could.

"Yes," Sora said with a nod.

"Dragons have crossed our land and left a great web of paths. These dragons wield much power, and they are the source of many gifts to both man and nature. But it would seem someone of evil intent disturbed one of our dragons, and transformed it into what you call a Heatless. It is my belief that this young man came to warn me of that danger. Then, I could alert and prepare my troops," the Emperor explained. His ever calm demeanor didn't change as he spoke, keeping his gaze even as he told the story. X was surprised to hear dragons were normal.

"Did you?" Sora asked. The Emperor chuckled.

"I was about to, but he told me the situation had changed," he said.

"He said four "wise guys" had arrived, and they would take care of things," Shang said, grinning slightly as he looked at the group. X himself held back a chuckle. It seemed like Riku did know what was going on.

"That's gotta be Riku!" Sora said, jumping in excitement.

"But what's he doin' hangin' out with Organization XIII?" Goofy asked.

"He's not," X said calmly. The group turned their attention to him. "The cloak hides him from the Nobodies. He's been nothing but trouble for a while now."

"At least I know he's ok. That's good enough," Sora said nodding to himself.

"Yeah, that's good," Donald agreed. X smiled and nodded. It seemed their bond was just as unbreakable as the last sets was. He hoped that was a good sign.

_A/N: Hey guys XD Sorry it's been so long. College has been kicking my ass lately so I had to take a break from publishing on here. Good news, the whole story's written. I just have to remember to post it. Thanks for your patience!_


	24. Chapter XXIII

**Chapter XXIII; Who They Are**

Yuki looked around the city, Naminé close to her side as she walked. It was surprisingly warm here, the bricks a yellowish color and shadowed grays. It reminded Yuki of twilight when the sun was dying out and the night was taking over. But something felt off about this place as well. She wasn't sure what, it had seemed safe enough when she had first come here. But maybe it was too safe.

"Why are we here?" Naminé asked sticking close to Yuki's side as she looked around the city. The way her blue eyes looked, Yuki was almost certain she was taking in every detail so she could draw it later.

"Well, I know you really don't like Castle Oblivion. So, I was kinda looking for another world we could stay in. And this world seemed pretty safe," Yuki said with a shrug. She had given up on finding the perfect world. That just wasn't possible, so she would have to settle.

"Are you sure?" Naminé asked.

"Nope, not really," Yuki admitted. Naminé sighed heavily.

"Yuki," Naminé began.

"Don't worry about it," Yuki said quickly before she could argue too much. "There wasn't much going on in town last I checked. There weren't even that many people. Come on, let's just take a quick look around. I promise if you don't like it we can leave." She waited nervously for Naminé's reply. The blonde Nobody sighed heavily.

"Ok, we'll look," she agreed. Yuki smiled brightly.

"Let me know if you get too scared. Alright?" Yuki said.

"Alright," Naminé agreed.

Walking around town they found it surprisingly empty. There was no sign of anyone, even less than the last time Yuki had been here. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. They had the freedom to look around, but there had to be a reason no one was around. But the town was beautiful. The buildings were clean and charming. It looked like a safe place for anyone. Yuki smiled looking up at a tower that seemed to be the center of town. She stopped, gasping and grabbing onto Naminé's arm.

"Nami, look at those windows! That's the Nobody emblem," Yuki said excitedly.

"There's a Heartless emblem on the other side," Naminé said, moving so she could see the other side. Yuki nodded, following her around. They were close enough to the building it didn't take much to walk around it.

"I wonder what the two in between are," Yuki said, stopping and staring at one of the hearts.

"They're dream eaters. One spirit, one nightmare."

Yuki and Naminé both jumped, turning to see who had spoken to them. It was a young man with messy black hair and blue eyes. He wore mostly white, with green accents on his outfit here and there. Yuki stepped slightly in front of Naminé, her eyes narrowing at the man. Something was off about him.

"Sorry, pretty rude of me," he said with an easy smile. "My name's Kiran, I'm a native of this world, and you two are world travelers." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Yuki wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Yeah, those pretty common around here? Not many places I've seen that can call it so quickly," Yuki asked. Kiran chuckled and shook his head.

"Actually, it's been a long time since we've had any. It's just common lore around here. So what are your names, and where are you from?" he asked, easily moving past the subject. Yuki frowned and glanced over her shoulder at Naminé who nodded.

"I'm Yuki, this is Naminé. We're from Twilight Town," Yuki said looking back to Kiran.

"Never heard of that world, it far away?" Kiran asked curiously. Yuki did her best not to cower under his gaze. The way his eyes focused on her was unnerving.

"A little bit. What was that you were talking about, the dream eaters?" Yuki asked, trying to shift the topic. Maybe then he wouldn't be looking at them so harshly.

"Oh, well, old stories talk about all the keyblade wielders used to have a spirit to guide them. And eventually, when the traitor was causing havoc there were supposed nightmares running around," Kiran explained, looking up at the odd heart shapes. He smiled softly, seeming to remember something.

"So, they're like Heartless?" Yuki asked.

"Well, nightmares are. Spirits are good creatures. They protect dreams and eat nightmares. Nightmares are the opposite, they bring bad dreams and devour the good ones," Kiran clarified. Yuki nodded looking up at the symbols. Somehow it was easy to tell which was the Nightmare and which was the Spirit. The Spirits heart looked softer.

"Oh, that's interesting," she said. Kiran nodded in agreement. He was silent for a moment before he looked back to Yuki again.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did you get here?" Kiran asked.

"Uh, well," Yuki began. It was hard to explain she had followed a smaller Heartless than opened a dark corridor. And she wasn't sure she wanted to admit that.

"Is one of you a keyblade wielder?" Kiran asked. Yuki looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"I am," she said warily.

"Ah, that makes sense," Kiran said with a nod. "This is going to sound weird, but I can really see it."

"You can see it?" Yuki echoed in disbelief.

"Yeah, don't sweat it though, I'm a master," Kiran said, his chest puffing out proudly. Yuki blinked at him in shock. He hadn't seemed like a wielder to her. He wasn't really that impressive. Mostly annoying really.

"There are keyblade wielders here?" Yuki asked.

"Yeah, quite a few. We used to have more, but Heartless have gotten really bad around here so our numbers have gone down," he said sadly. Yuki frowned looking down. Ther Heartless here were so bad they could actually kill wielders? Why? What made this place so special? "You haven't met many others, have you?" Kiran asked, pulling Yuki out of her thoughts.

"Not really," Yuki said. She glanced at Naminé, who clung to her side with her gaze lowered to the ground. If they stayed much longer Naminé wouldn't be able to handle it. "There were only a few of us."

"How many?" Kiran asked.

"Uh, well," Yuki began, smiling nervously. She mentally counted, trying to remember all the wielders that had been at the battle. There was Sora and Y and Mickey, Riku wasn't there, but he could use a keyblade and then herself. She almost counted Roxas and Xion but decided against it. They were gone after all. "Five, counting me. But we aren't all together all that often."

"Who are all of your Masters?" Kiran asked. Yuki stared at him blankly.

"Uh, what?" she asked.

"Master, the one who bequeathed you the key," Kiran said. Yuki frowned turning to look at Naminé. She didn't have a key, but she always seemed to know more about them than anyone else.

"That's a thing?" she asked. Naminé nodded, still looking down at the ground.

"It's not very common anymore. At least, I didn't think it was," Naminé said, her face slightly flushed.

"Well, I'm going with I didn't have one. Or I did and I just don't remember," Yuki decided, turning back to Kiran. She probably did, in a way. MAybe Kiu had been granted a keyblade and that was how Yuki got hers.

"Really," Kiran said looking at her with narrowed eyes. Yuki fought the urge to cower back from him. She didn't like that look at all. He looked over his shoulder toward a castle that took up a fair portion of the city. "Oh, my sister's calling. Would you two like to accompany me to meet her?" he asked turning back to them.

"Nami?" Yuki asked. She already knew the answer. She didn't want to stay, this guy was beginning to weird her out with all his questions.

"I don't know, we wouldn't want to intrude," Naminé said softly. She was getting the same feeling, Yuki could tell by the way she shuffled her feet together.

"It would be no intrusion. I think she'd love to meet you guys. She's a master too, and she knows more about the dream eaters than I do," Kiran said smoothly. He was focused on Naminé now, and Yuki shifted herself in front of her just slightly. She stood directly between them now, not giving him a chance to get close to Naminé.

"I think we'll pass," Yuki said firmly.

"Kiran!"

A black-haired young woman with eyes like shards of ice approached them, already looking annoyed. Her eyes widened as they fell on Yuki and Naminé. Her low ponytail fell down her back. She wore purple and white, with lilac crystals hanging off her waist.

"Oh, this is what's taking you so long," the girl said looking at them.

"Yeah, these girls are from another world. This is Yuki and Naminé," Kiran said calmly, motioning to each in turn. Yuki glared at him, her hand going to Naminé's wrist. "You two, my sister, Hoshiko. She's the leader of this world."

"You two look worried? Something wrong?" Hoshiko asked.

"Nami is really shy, a lot of interaction scares her. I'm worried if we stay much longer it will be bad for her," Yuki said calmly. It took all she had to not run away then and there. She didn't trust her ability to outrun them in their homeworld.

"If she needs rest we could always let her rest in the castle," Hoshiko said.

"No, it'd be better if we left," Yuki said.

"Aw, leaving so soon?"

Yuki jumped away from the familiar voice. She turned and looked up to see Zakey standing on top of a nearby building. She heard gasps from Hoshiko and Kiran, even a mutter that sounded something like a name. Zakey smirked down at them, her purple hair tied back, with braids on the left side of her head. Her pink eyes narrowed at them playfully.

"I personally think there's a lot for you to learn here. Maybe you should stick around. The Memory Keeper is only a Nobody, she can't really feel anything," Zakey went on, pacing across the roof. Yuki clenched her fist and stepped forward.

"You know that's not true. And she's not some tool for you to use. She has a name!" Yuki shouted without much thought.

"Of course. My apologies," Zakey said, bowing mockingly. A scream sounded through the air. Zakey stood straight and looked over her shoulder with a wicked grin. "Ah, looks like things are getting underway."

"What did you do?" Yuki asked. Zakey looked back at her with disinterest.

"Weren't you leaving? That's not really your problem is it?" she asked. Yuki narrowed her eyes and stepped forward again.

"I asked a question," Yuki said slowly. Zakey smirked.

"Arykii and I have made our move, this town isn't as bright as you like to think," she said. She bowed mockingly again as a dark corridor opened around her.

"That wasn't one of the usual ones," Hoshiko said. She looked to Kiran who was very pale, staring where she had vanished.

"You've seen them before?" Yuki asked.

"Pretty common around here," Kiran said turning to Yuki. "You know them?"

"In a loose use of the word," Yuki said calmly. "Come on, we have to see what Arykii did. Nami, stay back ok?"

Kiran and Hoshiko led the way through the city, easily finding the source of the screams. There was a large group of wielders trying to fight a large golden leopard Heartless with a red emblem outlined in black. Up on the castle wall, Zakey was speaking to Arykii, who looked impassive.

"I can handle Arykii and Zakey, you guys take Leopardus," Yuki said, summoning both of her keys to her hands. She heard gasps from Hoshiko and Kiran, but she didn't look at them to gauge their reactions. It didn't matter.

"You know their names!?" Kiran asked.

"You know the Heartless' name?" Hoshiko asked.

"Yes, no time. Maybe we'll talk later if you don't keep being so pushy," Yuki said. She gave them no time to argue before she ran toward the wall. She didn't hear footsteps behind her, so she assumed they had gone for Leopardus.

"Oh, this is not a fight we can win," Zakey drawled as Yuki stood in front of the two of them. She rolled her eyes looking to Arykii beside her.

"Indeed, Sykitune and Myruai suffered for that foolish decision," Arykii said, her black eyes staring at Yuki calmly. Her skin was dotted with freckles that seemed to match Leopardus' spots.

"Did you know, your majesty, that this is the world most of us came from?" Zakey asked, pacing around slightly.

"Didn't know, nor did I care," Yuki said calmly.

"Not curious about your subjects? Not the greatest queen," Zakey muttered. Yuki didn't give her a moment to continue her talking.

She shot forward swinging her keys forward. Zakey easily stepped back, bringing her hook blades to her hand. Before Yuki could go for her, Arykii punched her side, pushing her away. The blue-haired Heartless clenched her brass knuckles tightly, calmly watching Yuki for her next move.

Yuki took a deep breath starting the fight again. It quickly became clear that she did not have the upper hand. With two Heartless against her all on her own, she wasn't able to handle it. She was covered in bruises and scratches, blood dripping down her cheek from a cut Zakey had given her.

Yuki jumped back and up her hand, whistling a series of notes. Pheonix appeared behind her with its wings outstretched. Zakey smirked, taking a step or two back.

"Digging your own grave," she chided.

"No, I'm digging yours," Yuki said. Zakey laughed, jumping forward again.

With Pheonix on her side, Yuki found it much easier to handle the other elites. Arykii focused on Pheonix, while Yuki fought Zakey. It was a strange fight. It was almost like Zakey could easily see through every move Yuki was about to make, even pulling her keyblades from her hands a few times. It wasn't until Arykii pulled back as Leopardus gave out a dying cry that Zakey let up, pulling back from Yuki.

Arykii looked at Yuki with surprisingly hurt eyes. Her hand went to the charm on her coat, a leopard head.

"You're not the only one who wants their friends back," Arykii said. Yuki frowned, lowering her keyblades.

"We have lost as much as you, in fact, we've lost even more," Zakey said. She smiled looking over Yuki's shoulder. "Have fun with this world, did I mention they despise Heartless like us more than anything?"

The two were engulfed by dark corridors where they stood leaving Yuki to stand in confusion, Phoenix resting on the castle wall behind her. Yuki frowned looking toward where Leopardus had died. The people of the town had gathered, looking at her with distrusting eyes.

"I knew you weren't human. You're a monster," Kiran said, stepping in front of the group. Yuki stared at him with her mouth agape. She had just fought off two Heartless to protect them. And she didn't even like them.

"I didn't do anything to you," Yuki said.

"No, not yet, But we know Heartless like you wear nice little masks until you can take what you want," Hoshiko said, stepping forward to stand with her brother. She lifted her keyblade, a lilac key with feathers for teeth and a guard like a dream catcher. "Darkness has no place here."

"I helped you!" Yuki said. Were they really serious?

"We aren't as dense as some wielders," Kiram said raising his own silver keyblade. Yuki swallowed nervously and stepped back. Pheonix chirped words of concern. Yuki clenched her fist and nodded.

"Phoenix, now," she ordered. Pheonix spread its wings landing on the ground behind Yuki, it wrapped its wings around Yuki and engulfed itself in a dark corridor.

Yuki found herself falling from the sky. She landed beside Naminé in a crouched position. She stood quickly brushing off her knees. Naminé looked at her in shock.

"Ok, remind me I should probably listen to you more often. Let's go," Yuki said as she opened a dark corridor.

"What happened?" Naminé asked.

"We'll talk back at Castle Oblivion," Yuki said. Naminé nodded and entered the dark corridor. Yuki followed her, not daring to look back. They soon stood in the plain white halls they were so familiar with.

"What happened?" Naminé asked as Yuki sat down on the steps at the end of the hall.

"I tried to help those people and they turned on me because I could control the Heartless," Yuki said shaking her head.

"I'm sorry," Naminé said softly. Yuki shook her head sighing heavily as she looked up at her.

"Not your fault," she said. She sighed again at looked at the ground. "Is this what it's always going to be? Us pretending we aren't what we are then running when someone finds out?" That's what it was seeming to become. She hadn't been able to stay with many people, and she figured many of the people who pretended to trust her really didn't. Especially with the strange reactions after the battle at Hollow Bastion. "It seems like a really lonely life."

"Your friends won't care. Riku knows," Naminé pointed it out.

"And when's the last time I saw him? I know you mean well Naminé, but I think I'm losing them too. Kairi, her kidnapper is practically my brother. No matter which one. And Sora, when he finds out, he'll hate me," Yuki said. Thinking of Sora gave her a headache in general. There were moments she wanted nothing more than to take his heart. Then there were moments she couldn't stand the idea of him being hurt. During the battle, he had been a second away from being knocked down when Yuki had reacted. But she wasn't sure how she reacted. Just that it hurt, and she couldn't keep her eyes open afterward, and she had heard someone tell her to close her eyes.

"No he won't, he knew what I was and he still didn't hate me. And I did much worse to him than you," Naminé said. Yuki frowned looking up.

"Really?" she asked.

"I'm the one who messed up his memories in the first place. But, he still promised we'd be friends when we met again," Naminé said, nodding to herself, looking at her hand. She gripped her own wrist, pinky finger extended as if she was making the promise then and there.

"Thanks, Nami, once again you are full of wisdom that I only wish for," Yuki said pushing herself up. "You really think we'll be together again?"

"One day, I'm sure," Naminé said smiling. Yuki smiled softly in return. She wished she could believe her.


	25. Chapter XXIV

**Chapter XXIV; Overcoming Anger**

X trailed after Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they entered the Beast's Castle. The entryway was just as dark as it had been. X had hoped someone would have been able to brighten the place up since their last visit. But there was no change, save the outfit the Beast was wearing. X could see how nervous he was and frowned glancing around. Was something going on?

"Hey there!" Sora greeted as they approached the Beast.

"No Heartless and no Nobodies!" Donald announced as he looked around.

"I think they're close though," Goofy said, glancing around himself. Sora nodded in agreement.

"Better watch out!" he said. X sighed heavily looking down.

"Can you guys not read a mood?" he asked. Sora looked at X in confusion his head tilted to the side. X had to take that as a yes. It was clear the Beast didn't want their interference today. Trouble usually followed them after all. The Beast gave an exasperated sigh.

"What are you so mad about?" Donald asked.

"Why are you here?" the Beast asked.

"The Nobodies' world has to be out there somewhere. We're looking for a way in," Sora explained. The Beast looked at him for a moment, clearly frowning before looking away.

"Hmph," he said as he looked up the staircase. Belle had appeared wearing a very formal yellow dress, her hair in an updo that must have taken far too long. "Tonight is very important." Beast gave no further comment before he went to join Belle and lead her into the ballroom.

"Uh, maybe we came at a bad time," Goofy said, finally catching on.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Donald said before he ran up the stairs and into the ballroom.

"Donald!" Sora yelled after him. X sighed once again.

"And there he goes," he muttered.

The remaining three didn't have much choice but to follow Donald. They easily slipped into the ballroom which was brightly lit, with all the servants gathered in front of the Beast and Belle.

"Now then, Monsieur, Mademoiselle. Please, enjoy the evening. And of course, our honored guests are welcome, too," Lumiere said motioning as he spoke with his arms, which held lit candles. If that was how he always talked it was a miracle the castle hadn't caught on fire yet.

"Welcome indeed," a deep voice reverberated through the ballroom. X quickly drew his daggers looking up to the balcony over the ballroom. He glared up at the hooded figure, grip tightening on his weapons.

"Looks like we're not the only one's gate-crashing," X commented.

"The Organization!" Sora yelled, summoning his keyblade.

"You don't know when to quit," Xaldin said. Even with his hood up X could feel his gaze.

"Oh yeah! We'll show you!" Donald yelled, readying his wand.

"Get out!" the Beast yelled at Xaldin charging toward him.

"Not tonight!" Belle said, sounding angry for the first time. Xaldin simply snapped, summoning a rush of dragoon Nobodies. The Beast pushed past them easily, knocking them to the side.

"I've come to take something you hold very dear," Xaldin said calmly. The Beast roared in response, which only made Xaldin chuckle. "Yes. Let your anger grow." Xaldin vanished leaving behind a rather large group of dragoons.

"Beast! We have to get rid of these guys first!" Sora called to the Beast, who had stopped staring where Xaldin had disappeared. X had already started the fight, taking out the dragoons with a few well-aimed strikes.

It didn't take long for them to take out all the Nobodies. The group stood, looking around and panting as they looked around the ballroom for any sign of more enemies.

"Where's Belle?" Sora asked, searching the room.

"Over here!" Belle called as she and the servants came in off the balcony.

"Whew, she's ok," Sora said, relaxing his grip on his keyblade as he looked around the room. Everything seemed to be accounted for. All the servants were still there, and Belle was clearly alright, not even shaken. But that was probably because she had been kidnapped before.

"Guess Xaldin didn't take anything after all," Goofy said glancing around. The Beast ran out of the room, shoving the doors so hard it was a miracle they didn't break off the hinges. X frowned watching him go. Was there something else Xaldin could have taken?

"What's wrong?" Sora asked, looking to the others. Belle followed the Beast without a word. Sora watched her with confusion. "Belle? What's with them?"

"Maybe Belle isn't the only thing precious to the Beast," Goofy suggested. X gasped as he remembered.

"The rose!"

"C'mon!" Donald said before leading the group to the Beast's room. It was clear to tell upon their arrival the Beast was fuming.

"What's wrong?" Belle asked, carefully moving closer to the Beast. "Please, calm down!" The Beast turned on Belle, almost hitting her with his claws. X bristled at the side, sliding one of his daggers into his grip.

"Calm down!? You just had to have a party, didn't you? Don't you see what's happened?" the Beast asked angrily.

"Hey. What's with you?" Sora asked in annoyance.

"The rose. My rose," Beast said, hiding his face in his hands.

"What, that? He took it?" Sora asked in confusion.

"But surely, you can find another rose," Belle said softly.

"Silence! You don't know anything!" the Beast snapped, swiping at Belle. In seconds Sora and X stood in front of her, Sora with his arms outspread and X with his dagger pointed toward the Beast.

"That's not fair, Beast. Don't take it out on Belle. It's not like she stole it!" Sora said simply as the Beast stared at them in shock.

"And you can't fault her for not understanding if you never try to explain it," X added calmly. He kept his gaze calm as the Beast looked away, looking down at his hands.

"I'm sorry," Belle said softly.

"You don't have to apologize," Sora said firmly.

"But," Belle began. X cut her off by shaking his head. She was hardly at fault here. In fact, none of it was her fault.

"Belle. Sora. I want you to leave the castle," the Beast said still not looking at them. "Look at me. Look. This is what I am. When you first got here, I tried to change. But I was only fooling myself. I can't be any different. I'll always be a beast. So, I should live like a beast. With no one, alone. Goodbye, Belle." X frowned lowering his dagger. He hated to admit the Beast was probably right. Changing wasn't easy, and he didn't seem to be putting effort into it, expecting Belle to forgive him every time. If that was the case she would be better off away from him.

"You can't mean that," Belle said softly. She reached out to the Beast, but he made no move, not even looking at her.

"I think his mind's all made up," Goofy said.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. The group left the Beast's room and stood in the hallway in a tight group. "Look, Belle. Leave this to us. If we can get the Beast's rose back, he'll calm down." Sora said crossing his arms. Belle nodded and X frowned.

They all left the West wing and remet with all of the servants in the ballroom.

"Poor child," Mrs. Potts said.

"How could it have come to this?" Cogsworth asked shaking his head.

"And they were so looking forward to this evening," Lumiere added with a wistful sigh. He stared off into the distance dramatically.

"Now, now- no need to be so sad. Once the rose is back safely, this will all be over," Mrs. Potts said looking around at the group nodding her head determinedly.

"What's so special about one rose, anyway?" Sora asked.

"If the master can love and be loved in return, the spell will be broken. We'll all be human again," Cogsworth explained. X frowned, they had already been told that on their last visit. And if he remembered correctly they already knew why that rose was important.

"Yeah. You told us," Donald said.

"But there is a time limit. He must find his true love before the last petal falls from that rose," Lumiere explained.

"Ah, but that is not all," Cogsworth said. "Over time, caring for that rose has become a cherished part of the master's daily life."

"It's as though all his hopes and dreams are tied to that single bloom," Mrs. Potts said.

"Poor Beast! Then we have to get it back," Sora said firmly. X sighed heavily. There was no way to talk Sora out of something when his mind was made up, no matter how wrong it might be. Though, X supposed the servants deserved a chance at getting back normal at the least.

"Please do!" Mrs. Potts said.

"Xaldin won't have gone far, there's a reason he's here. We should be able to find him around the castle," X said, crossing his arms and glancing at Sora.

"We can't without the Beast, though. If it's that important to him, he's got to do it himself," Sora insisted. X sighed heavily nodding in agreement.

The group returned to the Beast's room, entering with no fear showing. Which, X supposed that gave them the advantage since they weren't afraid of him.

"Hey, Beast," Sora greeted. The Beast sighed heavily, not even turning to look at Sora.

"Leave me alone," the Beast said. X was very tempted to just leave there.

"C'mon, you need to hear this," Sora said stepping toward the Beast. "You used to be fearless. You would have given your life to save Belle. Don't you know what that meant to us? You gave us all courage. Hmph, maybe you should have kept some for yourself. I mean, are you really gonna throw your happiness away? The rose is your only hope, isn't it? Well, it's the only hope for Cogsworth and the others too. So, don't throw away their last chance. Remember what it was like before Belle lived here?" He paused for a moment watching the Beast's reaction calmly. He smiled as the Beast straightened up. "See? You can't give up. Not now."

"I know one thing," the Beast said.

"What?" Sora asked.

"This castle belongs to me. Xaldin will never be welcome here," the Beast said firmly. The group all nodded and returned to the entrance hall.

"So, Beast," Xaldin's voice greeted them. They looked up around finding Xaldin floating in front of a stained glass window, rose in his hand. "You came after all. You had me worried. I was afraid you'd given up for good."

"What do you guys really want?" Sora asked, taking a step in Xaldin's direction. He was silent for a moment. Though his eyes were covered it wasn't hard to tell he was glaring.

"Kingdom Hearts," Xaldin said, flipping his hood off. His dark brown hair fell around his shoulders, blue eyes narrowed at the group. "When Kingdom Hearts is ours, we can exist fully and completely. So you see, Beast- that's why we need your Heartless and your Nobody!"

Xaldin summoned a group of Nobodies to him. It wasn't too hard to take them down as it was before. But it was long enough for Xaldin to escape from their sight. They went out into the courtyard looking for Xaldin. There was no sign of him as X searched over the area. Where did he go? What was his plan?

"Look! It's the rose!"

X turned quickly looking up at Belle's voice. He caught sight of her, holding the rose just as Xaldin grabbed hold of her.

"Belle!" the Beast yelled. Xaldin smirked at them before taking Belle and jumping to the bridge.

"Hurry!" Sora yelled. They all ran toward the bridge, taking only a moment to be standing opposite Xaldin again.

"You! Get out of my castle, now!" the Beast yelled.

"With pleasure, but I'd rather travel light," Xaldin said, keeping his smirk. "What shall I leave behind? Belle? Or the rose?" The Beast growled in response and a look of worry crossed Belle's face.

"Belle!" the Beast yelled running toward Xaldin. Belle suddenly moved, elbowing Xladin hard enough he released her. She grabbed the rose and ran down the bridge toward the group.

"Nice," X sais smirking as Belle passed them.

"Good one, Belle!" Sora said, smiling brightly.

Xaldin glared at them, holding his hands out to the side as the wind around him roared. He summoned six lances to his hand as he glowered at the group.

"Where's the fun in this?" Xaldin asked in annoyance.

The fight against Xaldin was one of the more difficult fights they had had on their journey. They were trying to block six different weapons and the wind Xaldin used, not to mention he would occasionally disappear into thin air and drop down on them from above. It was a hard fight, but in the end, they managed to push him back.

"Is this the end?" Xaldin asked as he stepped back, black and white thorns enveloping him as he stumbled to the ground. X frowned, watching sadly as yet another Nobody fell, the same way all the Heartless would one day.

He shook his head, ignoring the strange look he was receiving from Sora as the group went back to the courtyard. Belle handed the rose back to the Beast, looking down at the ground.

"Here. It's yours again," she said simply. The Beast took the rise, looking at Belle with an unreadable expression.

"Belle," the Beast said.

"I know. You want me to leave the castle," Belle said cutting him off. He was silent for a moment before continuing.

"What matters is, you weren't hurt by Xaldin. You're safe. And, I'm very grateful to you, for bringing the rose back to me. Thank you," the Beast said slowly picking his words as he went.

"It's the least I could do. You've been good to me. And you didn't have to be," Belle said. X frowned crossing his arms. The Beast set the rose on the ground, looking at Belle.

"Listen, Belle," he began.

"Yes?" she asked. The Beast attempted to form words, but seemed to be unable to. He glanced to the side where all his servants had gathered with Sora and the others.

"Say it!" Sora said.

"Go on!" Lumiere encouraged.

"C'mon!" Donald snapped.

"You can do it!" Mrs. Potts said.

"We have confidence," Cogsworth insisted.

"Don't be bashful, now," Goofy said with a chuckle.

X rolled his eyes and looked away, offering no support or advice. If it meant that much to him he should be able to do it without their help.

"Belle, I'd like you to stay. With me. Please?" the Beast asked. Belle smiled and held out her hands, which the Beast took.

"I will," she agreed. The Beast smiled at her and soon they were back in the ballroom dancing together.

"Hey, did you see the look on Belle's face when she grabbed that rose?" Sora said as they stood off to the side. He was grinning broadly.

"Yep, she sure was havin' fun, all right," Goofy said with a chuckle.

"She is rather unique, isn't she?" Lumiere said.

"Always ready for a little adventure," Mrs. Potts said.

"The two of them do seem made for each other," Cogsworth said with a smile. They at least had hope now.

"Yeah, they sure do!" Sora agreed.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and X all returned to the Gummi ship shortly after. X leaned against the walls looking out the window. It probably would have been best for him to sit down, but he really didn't want to.

"Hey, X," Sora said.

"Hm?" X asked not looking at the brown haired boy.

"I, uh, I'm sorry," Sora said. X frowned turning to look at Sora. He quirked an eyebrow at him, keeping his face as neutral as he could. Hadn't they already gotten past this?

"This again?" he asked.

"No, I just. You looked upset when we beat Xaldin. Did you know him?" Sora asked. X blinked in surprise looking back out the window. He hadn't thought anyone had noticed. After all, it wasn't the first time he had shown emotion while a Nobody had died. He had been appalled watching Demyx return to nothing.

"Oh, no. I didn't really know most of Organization XIII, not past their names. Xigbar, Larxene, and Axel are the three I'm most familiar with," X explained, hoping to avoid any explanation.

"Then, why did you look so down?" Sora asked. X sighed looking out the window into the vast space between worlds. He almost missed being able to use the lanes between with Terra. Maybe he could convince Yen Sid to teach Sora how to use keyblade armor one day.

"In the end, Heartless and Nobodies aren't so different. When I go down, I'm going to go down just like them. I just, I remember when I wanted Kingdom Hearts just as much. I feel bad for them," X explained, his eyes tracing the stars.

"You can feel?" Sora asked. X chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can. Pretty sure we all can," he said. Even the ones who didn't know it.

*3*

Y hummed to herself as she worked on the computer in front of her. Programming was actually going well for once. They had a good start on whatever the code was. She knew it involved hearts now, judging from code she could see already made. She glanced over her shoulder to find DiZ standing in the doorway. He was staring at her, lost in thought, not even reacting to what was in front of him. Y sighed heavily and turning back to the screen.

"You're staring at me again," Y said simply.

"Am I?" DiZ asked, seeming to come out of his reverie.

"You do it a lot. There a reason?" Y asked as a way of confirming it. DiZ was silent for a moment, and Y wondered if he was even going to answer her. Sometimes he seemed especially spiteful towards her for what she was.

"You remind me much of a young lady I once knew," DiZ finally said. Y glanced at him once again.

"Oh?" she asked.

"It was a very long time ago," DiZ said calmly. Y nodded turning away from the code entirely. She stared at DiZ for a moment, taking in the features she could. He seemed much more human to her now. Before he was just as cruel as a Nobody, but as time went on he was seeming more and more like a lost person. Looking for something he could cling to.

"I see," she said quietly. She watched him for a few more seconds before looking down at her hands. "You're Ansem the wise, aren't you?" She looked up to meet with his very surprised eyes. She smiled softly to herself. That was all the answer she needed. "I was just thinking, you have all this hatred towards Xehanort and the organization, and they were his apprentices."

"You are quite clever, aren't you?" DiZ said. Y smiled and shook her head turning back to the computer.

"Nah, I would have guessed sooner if I was. I only guessed after looking at the computer in Radiant Gardens," she said. "So, why go after them like this. I mean, I get Xehanort, but the rest were just following him. He probably tricked them," she asked, her eyes scanning through the code.

"You think so?" DiZ asked. Y nodded without much thought.

"The Xehanort I knew was a master at tricking others. He probably lied about you to them," she said.

"The Xehanort you knew was a different one?" DiZ asked. Y shrugged.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. He doesn't look like Xehanort, but he seems just like him. I think there's more there than I'm willing to admit," she said, slowly looking down. She clenched her fist, her expression souring.

"And what wouldn't you be willing to admit?" DiZ asked. Y closed her eyes, letting out a breath.

"He used to be my friend."


	26. Chapter XXV

**Chapter XXV; The Cursed Fate**

X was in awe of the next world. He had been to countless worlds in his many years wandering, he thought he had seen everything a world could be. But this world was completely different. X supposed he would never cease to be amazed by the vast differences in worlds. Even if X couldn't quite put his finger on what the difference was.

X was too caught up in looking around to notice that the other three had stopped. His eyes were wandering over the many crates and barrels scattered around. It looked like some kind of port town.

"That's coming from the port," Goofy said, suddenly catching X's attention. He turned to look at the group that was a few paces behind him. He hadn't heard whatever it was they had; too lost in his own thoughts.

"Let's check it out," Sora said, leading the way toward the harbor. Or at least that's where X assumed they were running.

Running into the harbor they found a man who looked like he was a pirate. The way he dressed, with the hat and various beads hanging in his hair. He was facing against several skeletal men, all brandishing swords and looking like pirates themselves. X wasn't sure if this was a normal pirate showdown or not, but the other three seemed concerned.

"Jack!" Sora yelled.

"Zola! Some assistance!" the man facing the skeletons said, glancing in their direction. X had to do a double take looking at Sora. Was this man serious?

"That's Sora, Donald, and Goofy!" Sora corrected.

"Will ye leave a mate to perish?" Jack asked, making a helpless motion with his sword. Sora sighed heavily rolling his eyes. It seemed this man might normally be the type not to care.

"Aye, aye," Sora agreed drawing his keyblade.

The group joined Jack in his battle, chasing off the other pirates easily. They grouped around Jack, looking at the pirate with interest. Sora and the other two were looking over their shoulders where the pirates had been. X found it strange, they weren't fighting Heartless but still had no reservations. Even if they were against humans.

"Those pirates were cursed. I'd thought we'd seen the last of the curse of the Aztec gold. What gives?" Sora asked turning back to Jack.

"Some scallywag must've gotten greedy," Jack said simply. All eyes turned to him. He looked around at them for a moment, seeming surprised, but the look quickly faded. "Oh, I see. You don't trust me, do you?" The group all nodded. "Likely a wise choice, I am a pirate, mate."

"Jack! Sora!"

A new voice called from the side, making X jump. He was surprised to see a young woman with blonde hair wearing a light colored dress that looked like it would be a pain to walk in. Or possibly even breathe. Sora brightened up seeing the woman.

"Elizabeth!" he said happily.

"Some sticky business is afoot, I fear," Jack said, placing a hand on his hip as he looked at Elizabeth. Unlike Sora he looked less than thrilled to be seeing her.

"Wait, Jack! I need your help. The cursed pirates have returned. Will had to find out why, so he went to Isla de Muerta- to check on the Aztec treasure. I fear something's happened. You have to take me to him," Elizabeth said, stopping Jack from turning away and leaving them. Jack stopped and looked at her clearly unimpressed.

"Aye, there it is. If you'll be wanting him rescued, best do it alone, lass," Jack said.

"Alone? Really, Jack? Sail to the island and take on the cursed pirates?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief. Jack shrugged her concern off easily.

"Well, if any lass could," Jack said.

"Are you sure he's in trouble?" Sora asked, turning to Elizabeth. She shook her head.

"No. Not certain. But he's been gone too long. I wanted to go with him, but he insisted I stay here. I can't just sit and wait! I've got to know if he's all right," she insisted. Jack scoffed looking off to the side.

"Lucky man," he muttered. X frowned at his words. Was that a hint of jealousy he heard? What was this feeling coming off of his heart?

"Please, Jack! Take me to him!" Elizabeth said.

"Hold a moment. I see no profit in it for me," Jack said firmly. X frowned crossing his arms. Now he knew the feeling Jack was radiating. Though it had changed from the feeling before. Now it was greed.

"I shall reward you. Of course, you do owe Will. He has saved your life before," Elizabeth said calmly, looking down her nose at Jack. He straightened up very suddenly, as if he had forgotten such a debt.

"Right. Shall we?" he said motioning toward the waters where a huge pirate ship was. X felt his gut sink just looking at it. Were they really going to have to get on that thing? Couldn't they use some other form of travel? Anything but a ship.

They boarded the ship and set sail much to the dismay of X, who clung tightly to the railing of the ship. He stared at the wooden planks beneath his feet, willing his mind to forget the rocking motion. The ship was not going to flip over. It would be fine. Jack was a skilled pirate, he could drive a ship.

"You ok?" Sora asked, noticing X's white knuckles.

"Ships aren't my thing. I like my feet on solid ground, thank you very much," X muttered in reply. He tried to take a step away from the railing, but quickly lost his balance and almost collapsed. Sora laughed as he caught him and helped him stand again.

"Interceptor off the starboard bow!" Goofy yelled suddenly. X frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together as he looked.

"What language was that in? I didn't catch it," he asked.

"Will!" Elizabeth yelled from the other side of the ship. "Stop that, Jack. We've got to rescue him!"

The ship was stopped long enough for Jack and Sora to rescue Will, who was a young man with dark hair. With the ship no longer in motion X was at least able to walk to the captains room where Will was placed. He could still feel the occasional rocking and it threw his balance a little, but at least he could right himself more easily.

"Will, wake up," Elizabeth said. She knelt beside the bed all had gathered around.

"Elizabeth," he managed to mutter out. His voice was strained, and sounded almost water logged. Whatever had gotten him had really been trying to kill him.

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked.

"The medallions... and... the stone chest- someone's taken them... Next thing I knew, we were attacked... but I couldn't see who it was- his face was shrouded... in a black hood," Will said. Each breath was heavy as he forced the words out.

"The Organization!" Sora said. X nodded slowly. It was most likely, but why would they be here? What did they have to gain?

"We found a way out of the cave... but the villain sent a horde of terrible creatures after us... I've never seen their likes before... I think I'm the only one who made it back to the ship..." Will continued, not bothered by the fact he had been interrupted.

"Will," Elizabeth said in concern.

"Elizabeth... I feel rather." He didn't finish his sentence, his head dropping and his eyes closing. He had fallen asleep. Not that anyone could blame him.

"Our turn, guys," Sora said, turning towards the group. X nodded where he leaned against the wall.

"You'd best go prepared. We've no idea what's out there," Elizabeth said.

"Well, we have an idea. Just not a very clear one," X said. It was hard to tell if the organization had brought Heartless or Nobody's or both. And how many of what kind was an important factor to keep track of as well.

"Pardon me, lads and lass, but your captain will have no monsters today. Thank ye. We're turning for home," Jack said firmly.

"Just like that?" Elizabeth asked.

"Just like that!" Jack confirmed. He turned away and walked to the deck of the ship. Sora and the gang followed after him, probably hoping to convince him they had to help. They came to a sudden stop as Jack turned to face a newcomer stepping out of a dark corridor.

"Don't remember invitin' you," Jack said, his lip curling up in disgust.

"So it was the Organization. We'll handle this!" Sora said, jumping in front of Jack with his keyblade at the ready. X summoned one of his daggers, too unsure of his footing to trust himself enough to use both. The hooded figure held out his hand.

"The darkness of men's hearts- drawn to these cursed medallions; and this Heartless- a veritable maelstrom of avarice:" Behind him a giant Heartless appeared, a scythe in its hands as it floated behind him. "I wonder, are they worthy to serve Organization XIII?"

"And you want an answer now?" Jack asked.

"Precisely!" The hooded figure said. X wasn't sure which member this was. He could identify the voice as he usually could. The hooded figure left, leaving the Heartless to distract the team.

The fight went smoothly, despite X not being much help. The Heartless was knocked into the ocean in the end, with quite a bit of help from Jack, who was decent with a sword.

"Oh, boy!" Donald said proudly.

"Not over yet!" Sora said firmly. He glared at the deck, where moments later the hooded figure reappeared. He took down his hood, revealing a blonde man with blue eyes. X glared. Luxord, of course. The gambler himself.

"Throw him overboard!" Jack ordered.

"Aye aye!" Sora said, making to move on Luxord.

"Parley!" Luxord said quickly.

"'Scuse me?" Jack asked, stopping Sora where he was.

"Barley?" Goofy asked.

"It's a bit of a pirates code. Anyone who invokes 'parley' must not be harmed 'til negotiations are complete," Jack explained. X groaned in annoyance.

"Can't you guys just talk like normal people?" he asked.

"This is no time for rules!" Sora objected.

"True. But as we are honorable pirates we should always stick to the Code," Jack said. He turned to Luxord looking down on him. The look of superiority was of no use however. "All right, you. Out with it!"

"I surrender the chest with my humblest apologies," Luxord said, bowing back.

"Rather accommodating of you, mate. And for that you want?" Jack asked.

"Just a few souvenirs... for the memories," Luxord said. Before anyone could object he took a handful of medallions from the chest and threw them into the air. X watched as four Gamblers took the medallions and vanished. He cursed under his breath looking around to see if he could find where they went.

"Oh, no! We can't stop the curse unless we got all the medallions!" Goofy said. X cursed again, this time slightly louder.

"Our friends about to learn what it means to cross a pirate," Jack said.

"Oh?" Luxord asked. Behind him, the Heartless from before burst out of the water again and sent them flying onto the next ship over. As X struggled to get to his feet, he heard several loud booms that he guessed was cannon fire, just from the way the ship beneath him shook.

The next thing X knew they were run aground, the ship no longer swaying underneath him. But that might have been because the ship was blown to pieces and they just were lucky to have made it to shore in any form. He groaned as he sat up, nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw Jack taking on a skeletal form.

"You stole a medallion again?" Sora asked as he too stood up.

"Were I only that fortunate," Jack said calmly, looking at his hand in a sort of amazement.

"Fortunate?" Donald asked.

"So, uh, how come you're all skeleton-y?" Goofy asked.

"Perhaps I got a tough o' somethin' from that monster that attacked us. Yet, why's the skin restin' right on you four?" Jack asked looking at them.

"'Cause we're not greedy!" Donald said quickly. X, Sora, and Goofy all looked at him. X raised his eyebrows in disbelief. If anyone here was greedy aside from the pirate, it was Donald. "What're you looking at?" Donald asked realizing all eyes were on him.

"You," X answered honestly. Donald huffed at him but before he could start his yelling nonsense Sora changed the topic.

"That still doesn't solve the mystery," Sora said. Jack walked toward them, stepping out of the moonlight. X guessed that was what made this curse work.

"Gawrsh. Maybe the reason we're all okay is because we're not from this world," Goofy said in a hushed voice. X frowned nodding slowly that could very well be true. It might only affect those of this world in such a way. Magic could be very finicky.

"There must be different laws," Donald said in agreement.

"Yeah. We're always just passing through. Wonder when we'll see home again," Sora said crossing his arms behind his head.

"Sora," Donald said. X frowned looking at Sora in worry. He had never even stopped to think Sora might have been homesick.

"Just kiddin' you. Lucky we didn't get cursed, huh?" Sora said smiling broadly.

"Quit yammerin', mates! We've got to find ourselves a ship that'll float," Jack ordered, breaking the conversation before it could continue. X made a mental note to talk to Sora more later. It sounded like he might need it.

They went to find a ship, walking along the rocky beach. X wasn't sure where they would find a ship or, how they would manage to control it with such a small group. But he figured Sora was an islander and knew something about ships and Jack was a pirate. They would figure something out.

"Look!" Donald yelled as the made it to the beach. A Gambler stood with a medallion being tossed between its hands.

"A medallion! Get it!" Jack yelled. On land X wasted no time launching himself at the Nobody and taking it out in a few well-placed strikes. He picked up the golden coin handing it off to Sora.

"Three more to go!" Jack said proudly.

"How do you know?" Sora asked. X supposed it made sense, he had counted only four Nobodies.

"A pirate must have a keen eye. Else he won't be sailin' free for very long. Savvy?" Jack asked. X frowned. What was savvy? What did that mean?

"Huh? What's that?" Donald asked. X glanced where he was pointing to see a ship coming toward them. Soon enough he could see Elizabeth standing by one of the rails.

"Ahoy, mateys!" she called to them.

"Ridiculous imitation- and yet, I'm flattered."

X chuckled at Jack's words as the ship came close enough for them to board. Onboard X once again was clutching tightly to any support he could as the group gathered around to discuss their plan. Jack found himself in the moonlight, taking his skeletal form again.

"Jack, what happened? This is horrible!" Elizabeth said.

"Ah, but who's to blame for it, eh?" Jack asked.

"Well, it certainly wasn't Elizabeth," Will said stepping forward to defend her. X could feel the tension between the two men. It seemed this wasn't something unusual.

"It's Organization XIII. They're the ones behind it all," Sora said, easily breaking the tension.

"Wonder where they went," Goofy said.

"The hooded man took the pirates and his creatures with him into some strange hole. We saw them leave from the captain's stateroom," Will explained. X presumed the strange hole was a dark corridor. That meant they could be anywhere, even other worlds. Though that wasn't likely.

"Didn't occur to you to fight them, mate?" Jack asked.

"I'm no fool. I knew I was no match for them," Will said simply.

"That I believe," Jack said.

"Sora, I think we'll need your help," Will said turning back to the brunette in question. Sora nodded.

"Got it."

"First, let's find all the medallions. Otherwise, the curse can't be broken and the creatures will remain invincible," Will decided.

They went back onto the island tracking down the Nobodies carrying the medallions. It seemed they were in luck and managed to track them down without too much of a fight. Once they had gathered all four they returned to the ship, much to X's annoyance.

"That's four medallions! We got 'em all!" Sora said, holing the four medallions in his hand.

"But where's the chest?" Jack asked.

"If we find the hooded man, we'll find it," Will said.

"Prob'ly in Port Royal," Sora said crossing his arms. X furrowed his eyebrows and looked to Sora in confusion.

"Where did you draw that conclusion?" he asked.

"Organization XIII is after people's hearts. So they're gonna go where there's lots of people," Sora explained. X nodded in agreement. It seemed Sora was intelligent under all that goofiness. It just took a while to come to the surface.

"They'll hurt the townsfolk?" Will asked.

"No, they're bringin' 'em flowers, mate," Jack said sarcastically. X held back a snicker. "I don't know who these Organizers are, but I will say they're makin' we pirates look like proper gents."

"Well, Jack, then we have to help!" Will said.

"Then let go and haul to run free!" Jack ordered. X blinked a few times as everyone around him moved.

"What?"

They returned to the harbor that the group had first arrived in. The Heartless was waiting for them hovering around the chest filled with medallions.

"Go! He's for me," Jack ordered. While he distracted the Heartless, mindless battling it even with doing no damage, the rest of the group snuck around to the chest depositing the coins in the chest.

"The curse- it's gone!" Donald yelled as they backed away from the chest.

"Then what's this?" Jack asked looking at his still skeletal hand.

"Aw, I understand. Jack musta been cursed by that monster, not from takin' the gold," Goofy said.

"Oh, I've no worries, then," Jack said dropping his hand.

"It's ok, Jack. We'll just have to defeat the monster, that's all," Sora said, glaring at the Heartless.

In no time Sora had engaged the Heartless in a battle. The only annoying part was it would occasionally throw the medallions all around and become invincible until they were all gathered. X took to sitting on the chest and commanding the Heartless away from the chest any time it got too close to avoid having to collect all the coins again.

After the fight ended, the Heartless defeated, the group gathered around the chest.

"All better," Sora said.

"Ah, not quite, mate," Jack said turning as Luxord appeared again. Luxord held out his hand, freeing the captive heart of the Heartless, watching as it drifted into the sky.

"Sora, bravo," he said smirking. He vanished once again as Sora ran towards him.

"Just who was that chap?" Jack asked.

"He's part of an organization that's collecting hearts. First, they release Heartless into different worlds. We defeat those Heartless. Then they get the hearts. We're never gonna stop 'em like this," Sora said with a heavy sigh. Unfortunately, he was right. There was only so much they could do.

"What's the plan, then?" Jack asked.

"We gotta find their stronghold and finish them off once and for all," Sora said firmly. X was surprised to hear that plan. They hadn't really discussed their next move. But, that was probably the best plan. Stop them before they could succeed in their own world.

"Sailin' these waters, I've heard some tales, but not a one like this," Jack said.

"Is there any way we can help?" Will asked.

"Anything at all?" Elizabeth asked. Sora frowned as he thought.

"There is," Jack said.

That was how they ended up in the middle of the ocean again, dropping off the chest.

"It's certain we don't need the likes of that hooded fellow and the Heartless about. They'll ruin the market for us true pirates," Jack said brushing off his hands as he looked over the railing.

"So that's why you went to Port Royal. And we thought you actually wanted to save everyone," Elizabeth said, smiling to herself.

"A pirate always looks for profit, Miss Swann," Jack said with a nod.

"Too bad. You had us going there, thinking you'd turned over a new leaf," Sora said crossing his arms.

"The question is, what's beyond the leaf? Savvy?" Jack asked. It took them a moment to realize what he meant.

"Oh, oh, yes- a reward. And what'll it be?" Elizabeth asked.

"That lovely blade of Sora's," Jack said.

"Huh?" Sora asked. He seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding. "Ok. Sure." He summoned his keyblade and flipped the handle towards Jack. X held back a snicker and smirked as Jack looked at the key with distrust.

"Hold on! That was far too easy. What's the rub?" Jack asked. He took the keyblade from Sora and held it for only a few seconds until the blade reappeared in Sora's hand. "There, you see?"

"Well, you've always got the pearl, Jack," Sora said, banishing his kay away.

"That I do. But someday, I'll gather a blood-thirsty crew, and come to take that blade. Chance by then I'll have a way to wield it. And if I succeed, I'll ask you two to join me. That'd be reward enough," Jack said. Elizabeth chuckled.

"Done," she agreed.

"Maybe someday, Jack'll be able to use the keyblade after all," Goofy said with a laugh.

"Why's that?" Donald asked.

"A-hyuck! He and Sora are kind of alike, dontcha think?" Goofy replied. X thought about it and shrugged. He could see the similarities, though he wasn't sure Jack would ever really be chosen. It was a good thing Sora wasn't a master yet, or that would have been an interesting succession to explain.

"Are not!" Sora and Jack said in unison. They looked at each other while all the others laughed.

Afterward, the group split up. Jack sailing off, Will and Elizabeth returning to town and the group returning to the gummi ship. It was a quiet walk back, each lost in their own thoughts. As they drew closer to the ship they heard a voice getting louder and louder.

_"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me_

_The kraken leapt from the ocean brine_

_Look out, me hearties yo ho_

_And to the Locker the sparrow confined_

_Look out, me hearties, yo ho_

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me_

_A goddess thought she'd a sparrow save_

_Look out, me hearties, yo ho_

_And brought the blackguard back from the grave_

_Look out, me hearties, yo ho_

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me_

_The Flying Dutchman is on the hunt_

_Look out, me hearties, yo ho_

_To punish a sparrow for his affront_

_Look out, me hearties, yo ho_

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me_

_Within the chest his secret sleeps_

_Look out, me hearties, yo ho_

_The heart of Davy Jones still beats_

_Look out, me hearties, yo ho_

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me,"_

Following the voice, they found a young woman with long red hair left to fall down her back. She had her back turned to them, so they couldn't see her eyes. All the same, X could feel the chills roll down his spine looking at her. She wore a simple brown dress, looking like a less expensive version of what Elizabeth wore.

"Wow! You sound amazing!" Sora said. The girl turned to face them, a soft smile on her face as she looked down. X narrowed his eyes at the girl his fist clenching.

"Why thank you, I must say singing isn't really my talent, but I'm glad someone enjoyed it," she said. X's fist clenched even more hearing her voice when she wasn't singing. His eyes narrowed at her.

"Are you kidding? If that's not your talent I want to know what is," Sora said.

"No you don't," X said simply.

"Huh?" Sora said turning to X.

"Geez X, why so harsh?" Goofy asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah, that's just mean," Donald snapped. X ignored them, his purple eyes glaring into the girl's own gold eyes.

"Weird seeing you without the cloak Aryum."

"Same could be said to you Xy," Aryum replied smoothly. Sora Donald and Goofy all jumped turning to look at her.

"Cloak? She's one of the Organization?" Sora asked. Aryum chuckled.

"Not the one your thinking of. You met my counterpart from XIII here already," she explained calmly pacing away. She looked out toward the water, watching the waves smiling softly.

"Counterpart?" Sora echoed.

"Matching number," Aryum explained turning back to the group. "I'm number ten, as Xy said, Aryum. And you are the reason I'm here."

"Oh yeah," Sora said drawing his keyblade. Aryum rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"You can put it down, I've no desire for a fight," she said. X frowned and crossed his arms.

"Like I buy that," Sora said.

"Xy will tell you. I'm not always an ally to my kind. I let him and the other two escape, for a small price. And I'm willing to make you the same offer," she said. X deepened his glare as Sora turned to look at him.

"X?" he asked.

"Why do you want to read for him?" X asked.

"He's special, just like you lot were," Aryum answered simply. X considered for a moment, watching her. Her readings were supposed to be sacred. Very few were allowed them, because very few mattered enough for her deck to know what would happen. It could be in their advantage to know what was coming. But, it had proven untrustworthy before. He wasn't sure any of her last readings had come true.

"Fine, not like you're always right," X decided. Aryum smirked as she pulled out her cards and began shuffling them.

"And what does that mean?" she asked.

"My future hasn't gone to your plan," X explained. Aryum nodded, quickly pulling three cards from her deck.

"Hm, let me see. Twelve of heartless, ten of Nobodies, eight of Heartless? Correct?" she asked flashing X the cards. He nodded simply. "A betrayal, a gamble, and a mistake. Or, a redemption, a gamble, and a fight," she said. X felt the blood drain from his face. Aryum smirking shuffling her deck again. "See, I wasn't wrong. I was just preparing you for the worst. If I were to tell you the best, and the worst came to pass, it would look bad on me. So, let's play our game, shall we?" She held the deck out to Sora, smirking broadly. "One card first."

Sora did so and stared at the card in disbelief.

"No way," he said.

"Six of light I'd wager. Your card. Now draw me three more," Aryum said not even looking at the card he held. Sora did as asked and handed the cards to Aryum. She flipped through them nodding to herself. "Let's see, how interesting. Two of light, searching. Fourteen of Nobodies, lost memories, or perhaps lost friends. And Eight of Nobodies, a sacrifice."

"Or?" X asked.

"Or, friendship. Quite the interesting read," Aryum said handing the cards back to Sora. He took them with a frown.

"But what does it mean?" Sora asked.

"We'll have to wait and see," she said with a smile. "Good luck hero, I feel, this future might be more grave than you imagine." She bowed to the group before being swallowed up by a dark corridor and vanishing before their eyes. Sora nervously turned to X.

"What do you think X?" he asked. X sighed heavily, the words repeating themselves in his head.

"Aryum is never wrong. But she can be off," X said. "Let's just move. The future can wait until we get there."


	27. Chapter XXVI

**Chapter XXVI; Heart of Heroes**

X wasn't sure why they decided to land in the underworld again. They had to know they were landing in the wrong place, or at least not the usual place. Nevertheless, they disembarked heading into the land of the dead.

"Well?" Sora asked as Donald and Goofy looked back and forth. Taking a quick glance around X saw nothing worth noting. It was still the same old dark place.

"The coast is clear!" Goofy decided.

"No sign of the Nobodies or the Heartless, for now, anyway," Donald agreed.

They walked farther into the underworld, soon reaching the river Styx. Across the river bright lights shined, making some kind of arena visible. As far as X knew that hadn't been there before. He was no expert in the underworld, but he certainly didn't remember that being a thing.

"What's that?" Donald asked.

"Nothing good," X replied with no hesitation.

"The Underdome," X nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to see Auron beside them. "Fiends of the Underworld once clashed there- battle after battle. But Zeus didn't like the senseless violence, so he locked the place up." X frowned. Was the Coliseum above ground any different?

"How did it get UN-locked?" Sora asked.

"Some fool must have broken the seal," Auron answered calmly. X frowned. Something this big must have had a big seal with few options to open it. Like a key that can unlock anything. X glanced to Sora, remembering the strange tasks Hades had given them before.

"What an idiot," Sora said crossing his arms. X sighed heavily and hid his face in his hand.

"Hmph," Auron said, seeming to know exactly what X had figured out. He turned to walk away from the group.

"Where are you going, Auron? We should catch up!" Sora said.

"If you need something to do, go help your friends," Auron said, rather than giving in to Sora's demand. Looking to the entrance to the Underworld they found Hercules, Phil, and Meg standing together. When they returned their attention to Auron he was gone.

Since Auron managed to disappear they walked over to the group by the entrance. X frowned as he glanced at Hercules, who was still down after last time.

"Hey," Herc greeted quietly.

"Herc! You feeling any better?" Sora asked. Herc only looked away from them. X could feel the turmoil in his heart. Something that strong was impossible to miss. He was surprised more Heartless weren't chasing after him.

"Well, same routine. Wonderboy here thinks his hero days are over. And Phil thinks it's all in his head," Meg explained looking at Hercules with a sad frown.

"Gawrsh, Herc. We know you're a hero!" Goofy said.

"That's right, Blunderboy. How can you mope on a momentous day like today?" X groaned in annoyance as Hades appeared in a puff of smoke. "The Underdome's back, and you are gonna fill the stands. After all, your fans won't settle for anything less than a certified hero. I mean, if you're not up to it, you could always just, I dunno, lose?" Hades said, pacing around Herc. Herc seemed for a moment to get angry, but his face quickly fell as he gave up.

"I bet you'd like that!" Sora snapped angrily.

"Excuse me? Hey, I'm not a selfish guy. I'm not like those high and mighty snobs up on Olympus. I stand for the masses! And have I got a massive idea! The games, ladies and gentlemen... are back! Yours truly, Hades-the one and only Lord of the Dead- brings you the ultimate games, to celebrate the re-opening of the ultimate coliseum! We'll finally answer the age-old question: Who deserves the title "Ultimate Hero"? These games are gonna settle the debate once and for all! The winner reigns supreme. Of what? You guessed it! The Hades Cup! And I assure you that the "Great" Hercules will be there. Otherwise," Hades paused for a moment in his needlessly long speech, narrowing his eyes at Meg. Herc stepped in front of her, eyes narrowed into a glare that this time managed to stay strong. "You'll never see your girlfriend again."

"Lowlife," Sora said as Hades vanished in the same puff of smoke he arrived in.

"You're too kind, kid," Hades's voice echoed around them.

"He still likes the sound of his own voice," X decided glaring up at the rock above them.

They grouped together to decide their next move. Unfortunately, it was quickly unanimous that there wasn't much else they could do besides play along. Hades was the one in control down here, and that was a fact they couldn't fight. They signed up for the Hades cup at the Underdome, staying in a group with Hercules joining them.

"Who do we face first?" Herc asked as they stood off to the side waiting.

"Let's see," Sora said, leaning forward to look at the roster.

"It's Spin Strike," Goofy said.

"Sounds like a Heartless," X said calmly, crossing his arms.

"Look! Auron's in the tournament, too!" Donald said pointing at the bracket. Sure enough, Auron was listed on the opposite bracket.

"Uh-oh! We might have to fight him in the finals!" Goofy said.

"I bet he's a real hero, huh?" Herc asked. Sora crossed his arms and frowned turning to Herc.

"Well, I don't think he's a bad guy. But you're the only hero around here, Hercules. You know that," Sora said. X doubted that. Sora had to be worthy of that title by now.

"Maybe before," Herc said. "Now I'm just a washout."

"Stop that!" Sora said. X sighed.

"Maybe we need that other guy back. He managed to get you thinking like a hero," he said crossing his arms. Sora looked at him in confusion, while Herc gave a weak smile.

Luckily there were only a few rounds to go through, and if the first round was any indication of the difficulty level of the tournament, there was nothing to fear about these matches.

"How'd it go out there, champ?" Sora asked as they finished out the first match.

"I'm just not what I used to be. Sorry to drag you down, guys," Herc said.

"Don't throw in the towel yet, Herc! We need you in the semifinals!" Sora said. Herc didn't reply, and they were soon thrown into the next match. Just as before it was an easy enough win. Though Herc seemed to be holding back for some reason.

"We made it to the finals!" Sora cheered.

"If we win, we'll all be heroes!" Donald said.

"Oh, that's why you're so happy," Goofy said with a chuckle.

"We can't stay junior heroes forever, you know," Sora said, putting his hands on his hips.

"Who made this system and said you guys weren't heroes?" X asked. Sora shrugged, bursting into a grin as he looked around in excitement. X held back a chuckle at the childish action. He never changed.

"I'll try not to mess things up," Herc said.

"Enough already," Donald said.

"Look. Over there," Herc said, nodding towards a door. Auron was standing in the door calmly looking over the arena. "He's our final opponent, right?"

"Auron!" Sora called running up to him. Auron turned to him, a red glow covering him for a brief moment.

"And you are?" Auron asked.

"Huh?" Sora asked in confusion. X frowned, crossing his arms.

"Auron?" Donald asked.

"I must defeat you and atone for my crimes," Auron said simply. He turned on them and walked away leaving the group behind stunned. X's frowned, his chest feeling heavy. What had made Auron think like that all of a sudden? Who was trying to control him with such underhanded means?

"Hey! What was that all about?" Sora asked.

"Something's up," X decided.

They followed him deeper into the Underworld, finding him talking to Hades in a secluded area. They hid around the corner, listening carefully as they peaked around the corner.

"Ok, let's review. State your crime, prisoner," Hades said.

"I exist. That is my crime. It is inexcusable," Auron answered.

"Ooh, good, very good," Hades said.

"What's wrong with Auron? He's never acted that way before," Sora asked looking at the three with him. X only nodded back towards the room.

"Just watch. I think we'll get our answer," X said. Hades was likely to explain his entire plan, since he so loved listening to himself talk.

"Ok, so you made one lousy mistake: you exist. But hey, I'm a forgiving guy. You keep your end of our little deal, and I'm willing to overlook a transgression or two," Hades said. X could feel himself filling with anger at the god of the dead. He had no rights to say such things about anyone. In the underworld or not.

"I understand. Defeat Hercules," Auron said.

"And his meddling friends," Hades added.

"What? No, only Hercules," Auron said. Hades leaned on his shoulder.

"Oh, don't tell me you've forgotten who's in charge?" Hades asked, placing a hand on Auron's shoulder. Red swirled off Auron, going into a doll in Hades's other hand. The doll looked like Auron in a way, and X felt his stomach drop. This couldn't be good. "Hercules and the other four. Are we clear?"

"We're clear, Hades," Auron agreed.

"Lord Hades," Hades corrected. Auron hesitated for a moment.

"Lord Hades," he echoed.

"Good. Now go," Hades ordered. The group ducked back around the wall turning to each other.

"So that's how he's controlling Auron!" Sora snapped.

"What a jerk!" Donald said.

"He'd probably think that was a compliment," Goofy said.

"I can't stand seeing Auron do that lowlife's bidding. We've got to help him!" Sora decided. They fell silent as Auron left the area, watching him with determined gazes. "C'mon, let's go after him!"

They followed Auron until he went to the underdome. At the shores of the river, they met with Herc.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Herc asked.

"Auron's in trouble! It's like Hades brainwashed him!" Sora explained.

"He's using some kind of a statue," Goofy explained. Herc frowned as he crossed his arms and tapped his chin.

"You know something? That sounds kinda familiar," Herc said. He looked up at them with a determined gaze, similar to before he started doubting himself. "Hades may be using the statue to hold Auron's free will hostage."

"What do we do?" Donald asked.

"See if you can find that statue. It's gotta be somewhere in the Underworld," Herc said.

"Right. I'm on it!" Sora said with a nod.

"Tell me you're not thinking of leaving. You've got a match coming up," Hades said, suddenly appearing by the group. X glared at the god, already annoyed with his presence. Herc turned to Hades quickly.

"I'll fight Auron in the final. One on one," Herc said.

"Oh, you will?" Hades asked. He turned around quickly, and X could feel the unease roll off him. It was messing with his plan, but it would make Auron's job easier. At least easier than fighting all five at once.

"I'll draw things out to buy you time," Herc whispered to them while Hades was distracted.

"But-" Sora began. Herc cut him off quickly.

"Just hurry back. I know you can do it!"

"Congratulations! You've got a deal," Hades said turning around to face them again.

"Thanks," Herc said.

"On one condition! The Keyblader, here, and his trusty friends have to meet the winner in one final clash, whaddya say?" Hades asked.

"That'll drive the crowd wild," Herc said trailing off and looking to the side. Hades was banking on Auron winning. It would be the only way for all of them to be taken care of.

"It'd better. I promised the crowd the event of their afterlives," Hades said turning away.

He left them afterward, giving Sora, Donald, Goofy, and X time to slip away deeper into the underworld. They quickly found the statue, sitting on a table without much protection. Before X could try to advise caution Sora ran into the room.

"Got it!" Sora yelled. As he grabbed onto the statue shocks rippled through his body. Goofy reached out to Sora and was soon shocked himself.

"Huh?" Donald asked stepping closer to them.

"You probably shouldn't-" X began, but before he could finish Donald placed a hand on Goofy and was also shocked by the mysterious power. "-do that," X finished with a sigh.

"What's going on!?" Donald asked.

X sighed taking out one his daggers and carefully sliding it under the doll to separate it from the table. Luckily the shock didn't extend to him through his dagger. Once the doll was free, the shocks stopped and the trio sat on the ground looking to the doll in Sora's hand in shock.

"I get it. This is what belongs in Auron's heart," Sora said. X frowned looking at the doll in interest.

"Gawrsh, he musta had a pretty rough life," Goofy said.

"Yeah, but in the end, that's really what made him stronger," Sora said nodding to himself.

"Let's give it back!" Donald said as the group got their feet. Before they could move a group of Dusks appeared, surrounding them and hissing as they swayed.

"Nobodies? Where did they come from?" Sora asked, drawing his keyblade.

"Hey, go away!" Donald yelled. The Nobodies grew closer to them, still swaying.

X sighed and snapped his fingers, summoning a small group of Heartless that quickly attacked the Nobodies. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all turned to look at X. He shrugged picking his way past the fighting Nobodies and Heartless out of the room.

"Not what I had in mind, but I'll take it!" Sora decided.

"We'd better skedaddle!" Goofy said before they followed after X. He held back a smile. They weren't treating him like some kind of freak. Even when he controlled their enemies.

They managed to reach the Underdome in the nick of time. Hercules was fighting Auron and looked to be losing. His feet were sliding underneath him, as he fought against Auron's sword that was pushing down on him.

"Now! Finish him!" Hades yelled from the side.

"Auron, no!" Sora yelled.

"Hey, Auron! This belongs to you!" Donald called. They threw the doll into the arena at Auron's feet where it shattered. The red swirls flowed back into Auron. He set his sword down, looking at the sidelines while Herc caught his breath.

"Sora. Donald. Goofy. X," Auron said.

"Why those little-" Hades complained from his place. He turned red as he clenched his fist. "Ugh, prisoner! What happened to our mutual agreement? I can give you a clean slate, but you gotta work with me."

"Maybe you didn't hear me. This is my story, and you're not a part of it," Auron said calmly turning to face Hades. X held back a snicker, looking away.

Hades disappeared in a pillar of flames, reappearing on the platform where the group was.

"That's it! This game is over. I've played by the rules so far. Ok, I confess! I was hoping Wonderboy would lose, but it was still a fair fight. C'mon, is that really so wrong? Huh?" Hades yelled, anger clear as he looked between the group almost desperately.

"Really? A fair fight?" Sora asked. Donald, Goofy, and X all laughed. X could hardly believe any of this. None of this fight was fair, any more than Zack's fight with Terra was fair. Hades didn't know what fair even meant.

"Laugh, laugh, laugh all you want!" Hades said, letting out his own weak chuckle. "Because that laughing is about to stop. Wanna know why? Because now we're gonna play by my rules." He snapped his fingers and opened a gate. Everyone froze when they saw Meg hovering over the river Styx on a few clouds.

"Meg!" Herc yelled.

"Hercules!" Meg called back.

"Hey, I warned you right at the get-go. You don't compete, you lose the girl," Hades said calmly. He snapped and the clouds supporting her disappeared and she fell into the river.

"No!" Herc yelled as he pushed past Hades to get to the river. He paused at the edge for just a moment. "Meg! Hang on!" He jumped into the river, not looking back. Hades looked down, checking to be sure Hercules was actually gone before turning his back on the river.

"Looks like Wonderboy has dropped out of the standings," Hades said as he turned. He snapped his fingers closing the gate behind him. He was met with the glares of everyone still standing.

"Well, you've still got us to deal with!" Sora said. Hades teleported behind him in an instant.

"Oh, yeah. This is gonna be good," Hades said as he once again turned red. "Hmph. That's it!"

They began to fight Hades but quickly realized it was a futile fight. Nothing seemed to cause Hades any harm.

"We can't win," Sora said as he pulled back.

"How come?" Donald asked.

"Because it's his Underworld," Auron answered.

"Gee, then how do we beat him?" Goofy asked. X was about to answer, but he stopped as the gates by the river flew open.

"I think a true hero should be able to help," Herc's voice said. He appeared moments later holding Meg. He was quite literally glowing.

"But...you..." Hades said stepping back in horror.

"I owe you one, Hades. I didn't hesitate to give my life for Meg's. And then I remembered: A true hero is measured by the strength of his heart," Herc said as he put Meg down. "I'll never forget that again."

"Just no more crazy stunts," Sora said.

"People always do crazy things when they're in love," Hercules said. X felt a pang in his chest as he watched Meg fly away on the Pegasus. Crazy things for love. Yeah, he could remember that. Those two were always up to crazy shenanigans.

"What's so funny, you imbeciles! How dare you get a happy ending! How dare you!" Hades yelled.

They found themselves in another, and this time with the help of Herc they managed to do damage. X spent as much time as he could knocking Hades off balance for the others to take advantage of. They managed to push him back to the gate, his arms trembling. They had won.

"This...isn't...happening!" Hades said. "It's...not over...yet."

"Shame to think," X said calmly stepping in front of the group. "Your Underworld, your game, your rules, and you still lost." He summoned a small orb of darkness to his hand, then shot it at Hades's feet, pushing him back into the river.

No one made comment about what X had done. Instead, they found themselves facing Auron outside of the arena. With the battle done everyone had left.

"What'cha gonna do now?" Donald asked.

"I lived my life defending others. But now, there's no one left to protect. Maybe it's time I shaped my own story," Auron decided looking down.

"Yeah," Sora said. "You deserve it, Auron- after everything you've been through."

"I suppose I should thank you," Auron said. Sora puffed up his chest proudly.

"Not at all," he said.

"Fine," Auron said turning his back on the group. Sora slumped and X snorted.

"I mean, sure, you could thank us a little," Sora said.

"You should say what you mean," Auron said. He turned back around and looked down at Sora with a smirk. "I guess I could spare a few words. Thanks for meddling." The group slumped once again.

"Hey, what's that mean?" Sora asked. Auron didn't answer only walking away from them. X smirked slightly glancing to the others. Sora was looking at him with curiosity. X frowned.

"What?" X asked.

"You liked Auron," Sora said.

"Yeah, I guess he was interesting," X said shrugging.

"Why?" Sora asked.

"I remember thinking like that," X said softly. He still did many times. There were things that couldn't be undone. And should never be. "But, every crime can be if not forgiven, forgotten with time. No one's existence is a crime."

"No ones?" Sora echoed. X looked at him with his head tilted to the side. Did Sora think someone didn't deserve to exist? He gasped as he realized. The Nobodies.

"Sora, even Nobodies were once people. They exist, and they have that right to. All things can't be good. The world, the world needs balance. Light creates darkness, and with darkness light shines brighter. And that makes the shadows grow darker. It's a never-ending cycle," X explained calmly. Sora looked at him with wide eyes. X was reminded of Ventus very suddenly. But he didn't think he had ever seen Vetus like that. Had he? Only with anger.

"Which are you?" Sora asked.

"I'm the darkness that makes sure the light keeps shining," X said, smiling softly as he led the way back to the Coliseum.

"Thanks again, guys! You're the best," Herc said as they all gathered in front of the Coliseum under the starlit sky. X was hardly listening, searching the stars for anyone that stood out.

"Excuse us for meddling," Donald said dejectedly.

"Aw, sounds like somebody's feathers are a little ruffled," Meg said. Donald puffed up, his feathers actually ruffling. "I'm kidding. Thank you, Sora, Donald, Goofy, X."

"So where you guys headed next?" Herc asked.

"Aw, you know," Sora said with a shrug. He smiled as he looked at the two again. "You two lovebirds seem to be getting along just fine without us hanging around."

Herc and Meg looked at each other then looked away blushing. They stepped apart, but all X needed to see to know Sora was right was their smiles. Not that it wasn't obvious before.

"Yeah, we gotta go," Donald agreed.

"Uh-huh, before we start meddlin'. A-hyuck!" Goofy said.

"I think it's much too late for that," X said with a chuckle.

"Right," Sora agreed.

"Are you turkeys trying to put me out of a job? If you keep acing every challenge, Champ, who am I gonna train?" Phil asked, joining the group.

"Aw, you can't abandon me now, Phil! I gotta be at the top of my game in case Hades shows up again," Herc said.

"Hey, are we true heroes yet?" Donald asked.

"Yeah! C'mon Phil, how 'bout it?" Sora asked. Phil looked the group up and down for a moment. His gaze pausing particularly long on both Sora and X.

"Not quite seasoned enough," Phil said after a moment, his gaze still hovering.

"Ok, ok, we get the hint!" Sora complained crossing his arms.

"Look, kid, it's not my call!" Phil said.

"Aw, phooey," Donald said looking away.

"Course if it was, you'd have no problem. I'd make you all heroes in a heartbeat!" Phil went on. Sora and Donald exchanged a look before looking back at Phil with excitement.

"Really?" Sora asked.

"Say it again!" Donald demanded.

"On second thought, if those are your true 'hero' faces, you still got a lotta work to do," Phil said. He started to walk away, Donald walking beside him.

"Hey, what do you mean?" Donald asked.

"Go away!" Phil snapped going toward the Coliseum. Donald staid on his tail and Sora just behind him.

"Phil!" Sora called.

"Leave me alone!" Phil yelled back.

X sighed heavily, putting his hand on his hip. Those two would never run out of energy, would they?

"See that?" Meg asked suddenly. X glanced at her, seeing her looking to the sky he followed her gaze.

"Well, whaddya know," Herc said.

X chuckled looking at the stars arrangement. It seemed whoever was in charge saw them as heroes after all. And in his humble opinion, they were certainly right.


	28. Chapter XXVII

**Chapter XXVII; Changing Ways**

The next stop was a world X actually remembered having visited before. In fact, he had been there often. Too often. Honestly, he thought if he saw this desert ever again it would be too soon. He wasn't entirely sure why he had decided that, but he knew it was true.

In the city, they found their way into a shop. The entire thing was coated in gold. The walls, the ceiling, the counter, everything inside of the shop. X had to flinch away from the bright sheen. He glanced over, just in time to see Donald walk into a vase. He lunged forward and caught it before it hit the ground, saving it from breaking. He didn't know how much it was worth, but he was pretty sure they didn't have the munny to replace it.

"You break it, you buy it!" A voice said suddenly. X looked up to see a short peddler, glaring at them. His face suddenly brightened seeing them. "Oh! Hello there, friends."

"Wow! You made out like a bandit!" Sora said looking around.

"Please, I am but an honest merchant. What you see is merely the reward for my hard work," the peddler said, trying to act humble. X could see his greed easily though. It was hard for him to hide that sort of feeling.

"Gawrsh, they sure are nice," Goofy said.

"And they're on sale! Interested?" the peddler offered quickly. X snorted looking away.

"No thanks. Listen, have you seen a guy in a black coat? Someone from Organization XIII?" Sora asked. the peddler tensed up quickly, trying to put on a face of confusion. X glared at him. Did he actually know anything, or just actin?

"Who me? Most certainly not," the peddler said.

"Ok. We'll keep asking around, then," Sora said turning away from the peddler.

"Sora! Don't let him get away!" a new voice yelled suddenly. By the time X had processed what they had said and turned to the peddler, he was gone. X frowned turning back toward the man who had called back to them.

"What's going on?" Sora asked.

"Can't believe it," the man said. "That stupid peddler let Jafar out of the lamp!"

"Jafar!?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy echoed. X frowned tipping his head to the side.

"Uh, who?"

"He was an ally of Maleficent. The old royal visor," Sora explained turning to X. He nodded looking down. Maleficent had been an annoyance before, and she had given knowledge no should have to even more troublesome types across the worlds.

"You guys better be careful," the man said.

"Huh?" Donald asked.

"I'm sure Jafar wants to take over Agrabah again, but I know he's out for revenge, too," the man said simply. X decided when he got the chance he'd have to ask Jiminey for his name. He seemed pretty important, and he didn't have the slightest clue who he was.

"I guess he's still sore about that whole lamp thing, huh," Sora said with a nervous chuckle.

"Iago was there when Jafar was released," the man said motioning to a red bird flying around them. He looked at him with narrowed yes. "Ok, Iago. Spill it."

"Hey! I told you everything I know!" the bird said. It took X a moment to recognize that a bird was talking. However, he guessed he had seen much weirder things in other worlds. A talking bird wasn't so bad.

"This is your one and only chance, Iago. If I find out later that you've been lying or hiding things from us, we're through. I'll never speak to you again!" the man said firmly. the bird fluttered nervously in the air. Unease rolled off of him, like he was caught in some kind of turmoil.

"I can't take it! I know where Jafar is!" Iago said.

"Where?" Goofy asked.

"Uh, er, I mean, that is, I, um," Iago said. His unease only grew. "Ack! I really shouldn't-"

"Iago!" the man snapped. The bird sighed.

"He's in the desert ruins," Iago said.

"Let's get the jump on him. Lead the way!" Sora said cheerfully. X frowned looking at Iago. He turned to Sora.

"Are you guys sure?" he asked. "I think somethings off."

"Like what?" Sora asked curiously. X frowned looking back at Iago, who looked almost hopeful.

"I dunno, can we just be careful? His heart, it feels strange," X said. Sora nodded before following the mans lead through the city.

While on the way to the desert X found out the man was called Aladdin, a friend Sora and the others had made on their first visit. He had been a street rat, for lack of a better term, until meeting a genie and saving Agrabah from Jafar.

Reaching the edge of the desert they saw a sandstorm out in the distance. X wasn't sure, but he guessed it was right over where they needed to go. No a good sign.

"What a disaster! We're just gonna hafta turn back," Iago said, quickly turning to fly back to the city. X again frowned at his strange actions. What was going on with him?

"There's gotta be a way," Aladdin said, tapping his chin.

"Aw, c'mon, kid, that's an easy one!"

X jumped hearing the new voice. He turned in time to see a blue man appeared, who he could only assume was the Genie Jiminey had told him about.

"Al, ol' buddy, ol' pal. This is what having a genie for a best friend is all about! I mean, how can you leave me on the sidelines in a time like this!? Live large! Wow 'em, Al! Give 'em the old razzmatazz! What do ya say, kid?" the Genie said. It was hard to keep up with the Genie as he jumped around, becoming as large as the city itself before shrinking down to the size of the city.

"Hey, Genie!" Sora greeted.

"Sora!" Genie said teleporting to Sora's side. "Wanna see a little something I call "Sandstorm Sweep"?"

"Uh-huh!" Sora said excitedly.

"Take it away, Genie!" Aladdin said.

"Alakaza-uh," Genie trailed off looking at the sandstorm blankly. "You know? One lousy sandstorm is just too easy." He pointed his finger at the sandstorm and it vanished in an instant. X stared in shock. He had that much magic? "How about giving me a challenge next time, eh Al?"

Aladdin didn't reply. Genie left them to their business, and the group wandered into the ruins. There was no way they could investigate the entire ruins. Not on foot. Too much of it was too high for them to jump up to. X might be able to use Heartless, but he wanted to avoid that. This Jafar could likely control them too, and that might be a problem.

"Now what do we do?" Aladdin asked. As he looked around a carpet flew down out of nowhere, landing in front of them and pointing to itself with one corner tassel. X stared in shock watching the carpet. Talking birds, and now magic carpets. This world was beyond strange.

"Nice timing, Carpet!" Sora said.

Somehow the carpet fit all of them on it. X suspected it was part of its magic to grow to be able to fit its passengers. Even so, X was surprised. He looked down at the sandy ground as Sora directed the carpet chasing after a shadow of this Jafar person. Eventually they landed in a ruined chamber where Jafars shadow had disappeared.

"The game's up, Jafar!" Sora yelled.

"You sure this is it?" Aladdin asked.

"Iago?" Donald asked. Iago flew to face them, hovering by a stone on a pedestal.

"Ya gotta understand. It wasn't my idea! It was Jafar. He made me bring you here. You don't know him like I do! He can be very convincing! He said if I didn't cooperate, he was gonna-" Iago said in a panic. X stepped back. That's why his heart felt so strange. He had been manipulated.

"Where is he?" Aladdin asked.

"C'mon Al, you've gotta forgive me," Iago pleaded.

"Where's Jafar!?" Aladdin repeated.

"Well, um, let's see, right about now, he's probably attacking the palace. I had no choice! His eyes, they got all creepy and weird!" Iago said. X felt inclined to believe him there wasn't really a reason to doubt him. But it seemed the others thought differently.

"Whatever. Iago, you're supposed to be our friend. But you've been playing both sides, just to make sure you save yourself," Sora said, crossing his arms.

"I knew you were still a bad guy," Donald said. X fought his urge to hit him.

"I'm sorry!" Iago said. He flew into an urn in his distress, triggering some kind of destruction mechanism. AS the ruins began to fall apart, the carpet arrived, offering to carry them all out.

"Let's go!" Aladdin yelled as the group scrambled onto the carpet.

They flew through the collapsing ruins, barely avoiding being crushed several times. The carpet dropped them at the city walls. It stood leaned over almost in half, as if it were a human panting.

"Get some rest, Carpet. You earned it," Aladdin said.

"C'mon, let's get Jafar!" Iago said. X nodded in agreement, pausing when he saw Sora cross his arms and glare.

"And who asked you?" Sora asked.

"The palace is through there. Hurry!" Aladdin said, ignoring the argument.

They ran through Agrabah, weaving through the shops. They stopped at the peddler's shop, finding him standing outside nervously.

"I guess you know everything now, eh?" the peddler asked, wringing his hands.

"You can't keep shady stuff secret for long," Sora said crossing his arms. X stood behind them bouncing on the heels of his feet in a manner similar to Y. They really didn't have time for this.

"So true," the peddler agreed. "I had snuck into the Palace to, er, borrow some treasure when I heard this... voice. It said: 'Release me, and I will give you an even greater reward.' 'Who are you?' I asked. The voice spoke again. 'The true Sultan of Agrabah' he said. 'Imprisoned by villains.' Oh! Why did I believe such a tall, tall tale? Perhaps I was under Jafar's spell. Yes! That must be it!"

"And I'm sure the treasure had nothing to do with it, right?" Sora asked.

"Maybe a bit," the peddler agreed sheepishly. "But Jafar, he never gave me a thing."

"So where did you get all your treasure?" Sora asked.

"Why, the man in the black coat, of course," the peddler said. X frowned, that explained his suspicious behavior earlier.

"Organization XIII!? I knew it!" Sora said.

"Why would they give a peddler all this treasure?" X asked looking around in wonder. More importantly, how had they gotten all this treasure? They weren't exactly the type of group to gather money and material possessions.

"The treasure was a gift, so I would tell no one about Jafar's return. He said he would destroy Jafar after turning him into a 'Heartless.' So there was no need to upset Argabah," the peddler explained.

"And you bought that?" Sora asked.

"I'm a merchant. And a good one, at that. I'll buy anything if the price is right. It would have been a successful transaction if I hadn't been seen," the peddler answered. X was grateful he was at the very least honest, if not the best human alive. Not that anyone really was.

"Oh, you're so kind," Iago said sarcastically, earning a glare from most others. Rather than make another fight out of it they ran to the palace, trying to make up the time they had spent talking to the peddler.

"Just wait, Jafar! You'll get exactly what's coming to you!" a princess said as they arrived at the palace. She was chained up with an older man beside her.

"Indeed I will, Princess. All of Agrabah will belong to me, while you, you, my queen, shall weep at my side for all eternity!" Jafar said. The princess, X assumed was Jasmine judging from how bright her heart was, struggled against her chains. "Oh, please. Right about now, your precious Aladdin is whispering your name, with his last breath." Jasmine gasped seeing the group behind Jafar. The vizier turned slowly glaring at them.

"What was that you were saying Jafar?" Aladdin asked. Jafar directed his gaze to Iago, who had perched on X's shoulder.

"You dare defy me! You useless bird!" Jafar yelled. He raised his staff, but X quickly brought up his daggers to protect the red bird. He seemed to desperately be trying to change, and X wanted to allow him that chance. Jafar smirked, changing where his staff was aimed and shooting magic at Aladdin.

"Al!" Iago yelled, flying in front of the magic hit. He took the hit, falling onto the ground limply.

"Iago!" Goofy called out.

"You'll be joining him very soon!" Jafar said. With a burst of magic, he took on the form of a genie, though he was red in color. He ripped off a tower of the palace and dropped it on the group.

"Whoa!" Sora yelled.

"Run!" Aladdin yelled.

They tried to outrun the debris, nearly falling as they did. They were rescued by the carpet that took them up into the air.

"All shall bend to my will! The world is mine to control!" Jafar yelled, his deep voice echoing through the city.

It was an aerial fight, one of X's least favorite ways to fight. They struggled to get close enough to land a blow on Jafar. And without all of Carpets hard work, the fight wouldn't have been possible. X did his best with magic, but it wasn't much help.

They managed to defeat Jafar, Sora landing the final blow. He smirked looking over his shoulder as Carpet flew away from Jafar again.

"No," Jafar said looking at his hands again. "How can I be defeated again, by a pack of filthy street rats?"

"Don't mess with street rats!" Sora yelled. X snickered, he could think of a few reasons why that was true. Street rats could be very difficult to handle.

Jafar exploded into dust leaving behind only the damage he caused. The group panted looking at each other with lopsided grins.

"You went mano a mano with Jafar, and you didn't invite me, Al?"

X jumped once again at Genie's appearance. He laughed to himself as Aladdin sheepishly rubbed his head.

"Sorry, Genie. Things happened kinda fast," Aladdin said. Genie turned his back on him, crossing his arms.

"And I had some new moves to show off, too," he said with a pout.

"But, Genie, we still need your help!" Donald said.

"Who's going to fix Agrabah?" Sora asked.

"Oh, yeah! One super-duper spruced-up Agrabah comin' right up! You won't even recognize the place when I'm through with it!" Genie said turning back around excitedly.

"Just like it was, please," Aladdin said with a chuckle.

"Really? Same old same old?" Genie asked. Both Sora and Aladdin nodded. Genie sighed as he turned and cast his magic over the city, returning everything to normal. "All right. Et voila! Next time let me put in a few swimming pools, 'kay?"

"I guess Agrabah's all right now," Sora said as Aladdin stretched.

"Yeah! Thanks, guys," he said smiling.

"Hey, you behave yourself, got it?" Sora said, turning to Iago who had recovered sometime during the fight. He was perched on one of the stalls.

"I most definitely got it! No more lookin' out for number one. I'm reformed! I wanna be a good friend, like Genie, but I can't do anything to help you. What kind of friend is that?" Iago asked, slumping slightly.

"Oh no- it's not like that, Iago. Friends don't have to 'do' stuff. As long as you have fun hanging out together, that's all that matters," Sora explained. X nodded in agreement.

"So, what do you guys do for fun?" Aladdin asked, looking at the group.

"We do this!" Donald said. He and Goofy were making a strange face that left X in shock.

"I swear I don't know them," X said looking away, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Uh, that's not quite what I meant," Aladdin said.

"Well, anyway," Sora said, crossing his arms behind his head again.

"Ow, my back," Iago said, spreading his wings to stretch them out.

"Gawrsh, Iago. I hope ya didn't hurt yourself," Goofy said.

"Well, at least I can still fly," Iago said, taking off to demonstrate his point. Goofy walked underneath Iago, prepared to catch him if he fell.

"Look out!" Donald said as Goofy crashed into a market stall.

"Ooh! Was that my cue? Am I on? C'mon, Al, lemme build a freeway or something!" Genie said reappearing.

"Everything's fine. Don't panic," Aladdin said. Magic shot everywhere despite his words. "Genie!"

"But I can't hold it any longer!" Genie said as he spun in the air. "Oh, that's good! Sora! Donald! Goofy! You guys are too much! If you're ever in the mood for some more cosmic razzle-dazzle, gimme a shout, ok?"

"You got it!" Donald agreed.

"Well, you've done it again, Sora. Don't forget about us, ok?" Aladdin asked.

"I won't," Sora said smiling.

"And Sora, about that friend of yours, the one you're looking for. You'll find him. Trust me," Aladdin said firmly. Sora nodded, smiling at the thought of his friend.


	29. Chapter XXVIII

**Chapter XVIII; Gifts From the Heart**

X didn't know what was going on with this world, but he really didn't like it. They were in a dark and gloomy-looking forest. There were boxes placed randomly that looked like Christmas presents but X wasn't focused on that. He was more focused on the way everyone's appearance had changed, and only he seemed concerned about it.

Sora looked kinda like a vampire. He had ashen skin and his clothes were all black with a set of wings coming off his back and a pumpkin mask on the side of his head. Donald was a mummy, his bandages missing around the middle so it looked like he was in two pieces. Goofy looked like some kind of Frankenstein monster, with a large screw coming out of his head.

X himself was wearing all black, save the long purple scarf wrapped around his shoulders and falling to the ground. He had long gloves tipped in sharp claws. His hair was falling in his eyes, covering the right eye entirely. Around his neck was a broken bell. That wasn't too strange, his biggest problem was the two cat tails and the ears he could feel moving on his head. He frowned, cutting his lips on one of his teeth, that had apparently sharpened as well.

"What is this place, and why do I look like I'm half cat?" X asked looking over his shoulder at his two tails that flicked in annoyance. Sora laughed looking at him.

"This is Halloween Town," Sora explained.

"I don't like this," X decided. His tails flicked again and his ears flattened to the top of his head. "I really don't like this."

"Huh?" Donald said. X glared at him but stopped seeing an even stranger thing than the group he was with.

It was the skeleton X had seen in this world a few times, now that he realized where they were. But unlike previous encounters, he was dressed in red. It took X a moment to register he was dressed like Santa Claus. X blinked a few times and looked back to the group. They didn't even flinch.

"Perfect timing gentlemen! Lend me a hand, won't you? These presents must belong to Sandy Claws. So I thought I'd better return them."

X looked up at the skeleton who had called out to them. He looked again to Sora, his tails flicking behind him. Sora crossed his arms looking at the skeleton with a frown.

"And you just happened to find them?" Sora asked.

"Of course, Sora. I'm finished with Christmas fantasies. You know that," the skeleton said calmly.

"But you thought you'd hold onto the suit?" Sora asked.

"What, this? It's just a costume. And Sally worked so very hard making it! Come on. We've got work to do!" the skeleton said, easily deflecting whatever accusation Sora might have been directing at him. X followed behind as they picked up as many of the presents as they could carry. A few times he hissed as someone stepped too close to one of his tails. He even stepped on one a few times himself, it was hard keeping track of two tails.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask. Who is your new friend?" the skeleton asked as they headed toward a circle of trees.

"This is X, we told you about him last time," Sora answered with a smile. X frowned, narrowing his eyes at Sora.

"You were talking about me?" he asked suspiciously. Sora nodded, looking away.

"Yeah, we were wondering if we made the right choice asking so many questions," he said. His smile was lost as he looked down at the ground. X looked away, feeling his face flush.

"Oh, I see," he said. He felt his lip cut on his tooth again as he frowned.

"Yeah," Sora said with a nervous chuckle. "Sorry."

"Please enough of that apologizing thing. It's not that big a deal," X said keeping his eyes off to the side. He didn't see the way Sora looked at him with worry. And he didn't want to see him.

They followed the skeleton through a door in a tree to another part of this world. They landed face first in a pile of snow. X shivered as he stood up glancing around. He frowned as he saw the others had changed outfits. Sora still wore all black, but now he wore a Santa getup worthy of the skeletons. Donald had become a snowman, with a blue pail for a hat. Goofy was a reindeer with a glowing red nose.

X, unfortunately, was still a cat. The scarf that had originally been purple was now red, with a hood lined in white fur. There were bells at either end that jingled whenever X moved. The bell around his neck had been fixed as well, and there were bows with bells on both of his tails. X frowned flicking his tails, the simple action was accompanied by a sweet ringing sound that grated his ears.

"Hey, now you can't sneak up on us," Sora said playfully. X glared at him, making his smile falter. X frowned looking away and crossing his arms. Now he had to figure out how to make the stupid bells stop. He pushed the thought aside as the group made their way to a workshop, eventually dropping the presents in front of a plump man wearing red that X assumed was Santa. He was going to have to be sure Y never found out or he'd never hear the end of it.

"Oh! Wherever did you find these?" Santa asked. He took a present from the skeleton's hands looking at it in confusion.

"In Halloween Town. You'll be needing them for Christmas, right, Sandy?" the skeleton asked.

"Of course. But these are just a few of the Christmas presents that were stolen," Santa said.

"Stolen!?" Sora yelled in shock. X turned to look at the skeleton, who scratched the back of his head. X didn't know much about this world, but it seemed this skeleton was a bit of an oddity. Did he steal the presents?

"Oh, Sandy, you don't think it was me?" the skeleton asked in shock.

"Still wearing the outfit, I see," Santa replied calmly.

"I just thought I'd dress for the occasion. But if you don't believe me, then we'll just have to find out who really did it!" the skeleton said. X made note he'd have to ask Jiminey for names here too. Calling this skeleton what he was was getting old.

"Very well, I'll leave it to you," Santa said turning away from them. It seemed odd he'd give them free rein over something so important, but X supposed they had weirder too.

"All right, Sora, Donald, Goofy, X! We're off!" the skeleton said.

As they were leaving the workshop, they heard crashes from above them. They exchanged quick glances before running up the stairs to a factory-like room. In the room was a group of three children, each dressed in costumes. One was a devil, one a witch, and the last a sort of skeleton.

"These kids?" X muttered to himself.

"No!" the witch said as the two boys searched through a mound of toys. The devil tossed aside a sailboat as the skeleton picked up a stuffed bear.

"This looks good," he said.

"No!" the witch said dismissively.

"Boooring!" the devil agreed. The skeleton shrugged and tossed the bear away.

"This one?" the devil asked.

"No!" the witch said.

"No way!" the skeleton said in agreement.

"Hey!" Donald yelled. The three stopped in their tracks turning to look at the group in the doorway.

"So you three took them!" Sora said.

"Took what?" the witch asked in confusion.

"You stole the presents, didn't you!" the skeleton dressed as Santa said angrily. The group of kids looked at each other in confusion.

"It wasn't us!" the devil said.

"But," the little skeleton said. He looked to the witch who removed her mask to look at the boys.

"It really sounds like fun!" she said putting her mask back on.

"Run for it!" the three yelled in unison.

"Excuse me," X said in a deathly calm voice. The three children froze in their places, shaking as they looked at X. He smirked calmly glancing to Sora. "That's what I thought. Sora."

"How did you do that?" Sora asked.

"Organization XIV has a deal with these kids. They know not to mess with our kind," X said calmly, looking at the three again. They were still, waiting for commands. X had never liked the idea of threatening others, but he was glad Zakey had threatened them. It saved him a lot of effort.

"Where'd you put the presents?" Sora asked turning to the kids.

"We told you! We don't have 'em!" the witch said.

"Then why are you in here!?" Donald asked.

"We're looking for parts from the experiment," the devil explained.

"Experiment?" the skeleton asked.

"Dr. Finkelstein's making us a friend!" the devil said.

"One we get to boss around!" the little skeleton added.

"It's true the doctor's been hard at work making something lately," the skeleton admitted tapping his chin as he crossed his arms.

"Besides, Christmas presents are boring. Not scary or gross, so what good are they?" the devil asked.

"Yeah!" the little skeleton agreed.

"There's nothing fun here. Let's go back to Halloween Town!" the devil said. This time they let the group run, watching as they left the workshop. They followed shortly after going to speak with Santa again.

"So, were those pranksters responsible for taking the gifts?" Santa asked.

"It doesn't look like it," the skeleton said.

"Then that means," Santa began. He was cut off by a patchwork woman running in. X blinked a few times in confusion as the group all turned their attention to the woman.

"Sally!" the skeleton said.

"Oh, thank goodness! You're all here," Sally said breathlessly.

"Is something wrong?" Sora asked.

"The Heartless are back in the town square. I thought you should know," Sally said nervously.

"That's our cue!" Sora said. X nodded in agreement. They couldn't do much about the present thief without a lead. But Heartless they could handle.

"Back to Halloween Town!" Donald said. The group had hardly moved toward the door when the skeleton spoke up.

"But wait! What about finding the gift-napper?" he asked. X held back a curse, couldn't he forget about that for a second?

"Actually," Sally said stepping forward only slightly. "The Heartless were playing with some presents when I saw them."

"Aha! We have our culprits!" the skeleton said pointing. With no further delay they left Christmas town and returned to Halloween town.

In the square, there was a large group of Heartless all playing with presents. They were seeming to ignore all inhabitants around them. Their focus was on the brightly colored boxes they held. X frowned glancing to the short triangular man standing above the group, yelling into a megaphone with a panicked expression.

"You! You can't be here! Leave Halloween Town, by order of the mayor!" he yelled. X frowned looking back to the Heartless. He could hear their mindless chatter. It was almost cute. They sounded like, like children. They were excited and wanted to know what was in the boxes. This is what Y always heard, and decided the Heartless would make good pets. "Somebody? Anybody! I'm only an elected official- I can't handle this by myself."

"Sally was right. We've got to get the presents!" the skeleton said.

X stepped into the center of the Heartless group, his eyes turning yellow as he called the attention of the Heartless to him. Their childish chatter slowly died out, waiting for his order.

"All of you, clear out," X said firmly. It was just a moment before they began vanishing one by one. Presents dropped to the ground, and slowly the Heartless vanished. X sighed slumping as the last Heartless vanished. His eyes felt heavy, but he forced them to stay open as he turned to the group behind him. "Problem solved."

"Why don't you do that all the time?" Sora asked with his eyes wide in shock.

"Because now I'm exhausted," X said calmly, fighting his urge to yawn. He frowned looking over his shoulder at the town square. "These ones just, they sounded like kids."

"You can hear them?" Donald asked. X nodded.

"Yeah."

He tried not to. If he listened he could hear them, and he felt bad for them. He always did. They couldn't control themselves like he could. They were lost and confused. Couldn't even remember who they were, or what they had wanted.

X shook away the thoughts as they collected the presents. He couldn't fix that. He would have to leave it to someone else.

"What a shame! It looks like it was such a nice present," the skeleton said, looking at a box as he stepped on the toy that had been in it. X frowned, his tails flicking behind him.

"Uh, Jack-" Sora began.

"Oh, help! Someone help me! My latest experiment is gone- it's been stolen!"

X jumped and hissed at the sudden loud sound. He turned to see the doctor in a wheelchair on his porch. The group exchanged a glance before following the doctor into his lab. X's ears twitched as he looked around. The last time he had been here Yuki had been with him. They were looking for something. He had found this entire lab wrong.

"I was just sitting here brainstorming when all of a sudden I was attacked! I collapsed! And when I awoke, my experiment was gone!"

X glanced up again, realizing the doctor had been explaining what had happened.

"Don't worry, Doctor- we know who took it," Jack said.

"Who!?" the Doctor asked.

"The Heartless," Sora answered as Donald nodded.

"What, those wretched things? Preposterous! This was nothing like Heartless," the doctor said crossing his arms. X narrowed his eyes, his lip almost curling up in a snarl. He knew he wasn't the one being insulted, but he was in no mood to deal with people like this doctor.

"How would you know if it knocked you out?" X asked. He received several dirty looks but he ignored them, looking away, his tails flicking behind him.

"Not the Heartless, huh," Sora said crossing his arms.

"Who else could it be?" Donald asked.

"Say, I have an idea," Jack said. The entire group turned and looked at him. "The thief must like Christmas presents. So, we place irresistible gifts about to draw him into a trap."

"And this miscreant is the same one who stole my experiment?" the doctor asked. X shrugged.

"That's right," Jack said.

"How will we know for sure?" Sora asked.

"Well, now, that's easy! We'll scare a confession right out of him!" Jack said proudly. X wasn't sure that would work, but whatever they wanted to believe.

"Gawrsh," Goofy said.

"What do you say we go with Jack's plan just for now?" Sora asked. The group all nodded. They really didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

"Let's get to Sandy's house posthaste! We've got to make some Christmas presents, quickly!" Jack ordered.

They returned to Christmas town once again, finding their way to where Santa was easily.

"Have you found the presents yet?" Santa asked.

"Almost, Mr. Claws!" Jack said.

"We're going to reel in the thief with Christmas presents as bait," Sora explained.

"Would you mind if we used your factory to create a few presents?" Jack asked. X frowned seeing the expression that crossed Santa's face.

"Presents as bait? Goodness, I don't like the sound of that," Santa said. Jack nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Just this once, I suppose. It's for a good cause. All right, use the second floor. And put some heart in it."

The group nodded before going up to the second floor to make the presents. It only took a few moments to make the presents they needed.

"All done!" Donald said.

"Not quite," Jack said. X's ears twitched as he glanced toward Jack.

"There's more?" Goofy asked.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the rest," Jack said. Sora nodded slowly, leading the group out of the factory back to the workshop.

"Did you finish making the presents?" Santa asked when he caught sight of them.

"Yup, just waiting for Jack," Sora confirmed, crossing his arms behind his head.

"So, uh, where do you think we oughta leave them?" Goofy asked.

"Oh, I know a good spot. Whenever you're ready just say the word," Santa said calmly. Soon after Jack rejoined them.

"I'm back!"

"Now then, are you all set?" Santa asked.

"Yes. Let's go!" Soar said excitedly.

Santa led them to a plaza that was open enough for them to lay their trap.

"This plaza should work well for your plan. Now, Jack, what is your plan?" Santa asked turning to look at the tall skeleton.

"I've got it all figured out," Jack said confidently. X frowned crossing his arms. He had a bad feeling about this.

"You do," Santa said nervously.

"Of course! And I also have a wonderful idea. If we catch the thief for you, I would be honored to deliver the-"

Jack was cut off by Sora jumping up and covering his mouth. X snickered as Sora held the skeleton down at his height. X could only guess this was a normal occurrence.

"And on that note, we'll be going," Sora said, dragging Jack along with him.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Jack objected. His fight didn't last long. And soon they were in place for the plan. And X was certainly not impressed.

"Stop kicking!" Donald complained, moving around in the confined space.

"It's not me, Donald," Goofy said apologetically.

"Get off my tail!" X hissed. He wasn't sure who was standing on his tail, but it hurt.

"Patience, friends," Jack said.

"Shh!" Sora hushed, trying to get them to keep their cover.

"I said cut it out!" Donald snapped ignoring Sora.

"And I said get off my tail!" X snapped. He hissed feeling the weight shift from one tail onto the other. "Ow! That's my other tail!"

"Gawrsh, was that you?" Goofy asked.

"How come we have to be the bait?" Sora complained.

"Good plan, eh?" Jack asked.

"No," X said. He hissed again, scratching whoever was on his tail.

"Ouch!" Donald said.

They fell silent feeling the vibrations of something walking. X held his breath waiting for the signal. It came soon enough and they popped out of the box, finding themselves face to face with the culprit.

A robot.

"Huh? Doctor Finkelstein's experiment did it!" Jack said in shock.

They jumped out of the box and were thrown into a battle. Fighting the experiment was easy enough. It was big, hulking, and in general, slow to move. Though it did have a few tricks, they managed to beat it down.

"We did it! The mystery is solved!" Jack said proudly. X nodded from where he had perched himself on top of the fallen robot. The soft ringing of bells filled the air with each flick of his tails. He looked up as Santa arrived in a sleigh.

"Did you catch the thief?" Santa asked.

"Naturally!" Jack said.

"I just can't figure out why the doctor's experiment would go around stealing Christmas presents," Sora said, crossing his arms as he looked at the experiment.

"His experiment?" Santa asked.

"The thief! It was a moving puppet made by Doctor Finkelstein," Jack explained.

"Hmm, the doctor's made a moving puppet?" Santa said. He nodded to himself after a moment. "I see. He is always tinkering with things. Now listen, Jack. I'd like to thank you, and while delivering presents is something only I can do, I can give you an idea of what it's like."

Jack jumped for joy at Santa's change in topic.

"Sandy Claws!" he said as he jumped into the sleigh and took off.

"Yes, all that poor puppet wanted was a heart," Santa said. X felt a familiar twinge in his heart, reminded of, something.

"Right, like they all do," he agreed.

They returned to Halloween town to report to the people there what had happened. After explaining the situation to the doctor, X wasn't surprised when he didn't seem the least bit shocked.

"Interesting! So the puppet wasn't stolen after all! It ran away on its own! In other words, my experiment was an overwhelming success!" he said, spinning his wheelchair around.

"Santa Claus thinks maybe it left because it was trying to find a heart," Sora remarked. Donald nodded in agreement.

"That's quite possible. Unlike my Sally, it wasn't equipped with a heart," the doctor said. He turned again and rode off, not bother ing to explain himself. X frowned glancing at Sally who stood with them.

"But if it wanted a heart, why was it going around stealing all those Christmas presents?" Sora asked.

"Maybe because presents are a way to give your heart to someone special," Sally offered. X nodded in agreement. That was probably why the Heartless had interest in the presents as well.

"Hmm. When you put it that way, I feel sorta bad for it," Sora said crossing his arms.

Jack suddenly dropped from the sky, landing beside them. X glanced up to see Santa and his sleigh above him.

"Happy Halloween!" Santa called as it began to snow. X chuckled to himself catching a few snowflakes on his claws. He missed the snow. It was always filled with good memories. And now it had even more meanings to him.

"What a nice present," Sally said looking up at the sky.

"I don't understand. There's no box! No ribbon tied in a bow!" Jack said in confusion as he caught snowflakes.

"Jack, it's not about the box or the ribbons. It's about what's inside the box!" Sora said. X sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"No, Sora. What really counts- what's really special- is the act of giving the gift. To wish deep in your heart to make someone else happy," Sally said. Sora looked at her a moment before nodding, clearly becoming lost in thought as he looked up at the sky.

"Right, of course! Thank you, Sally, you're absolutely right. Wait! What's this? I feel so strange; so very happy!" Jack said.

"Jack, that must be Sally's present!" Goofy said.

"Really? This wonderful feeling?" Jack asked. He took Sally's hand, smiling as much as a skeleton could. "Oh, Sally! You've given me the nicest present in the world! And I've nothing to give you in return. What would you like? Just name it. Absolutely anything."

"This nicest present I could ever ask for, Jack, is just to be with you," Sally said. X rolled his eyes and looked away smirking.

"You don't even have to ask for that."

"Maybe I never gave her a real present after all," Sora said. X frowned turning to look at him.

"Who?" Donald asked.

"Aw, I bet Kairi would like most anything you gave her," Sora said with a chuckle. His eyes seemed glazed over as he thought of the red-haired princess of heart.

"I know. That's what made it so hard to decide," he said.

"It's not the gift, it's what's in your heart!" Donald said.

"My heart," Sora echoed.

"You bet, Kairi's like Sally!" Donald said.

"How?" Sora asked.

"Well, as long as she can be with you, what else does she need?" Goofy asked. X nodded slowly. He had never been one to understand love. But he guessed, that was all they ever needed.


	30. Chapter XXIX

**Chapter XXIX; Calming a Storm**

Yuki stretched out her arms. There was a stiffness in her shoulders that was getting close to impossible to get rid of. Naminé sat off to the side drawing in her sketchbook like she usually did. Yuki leaned over her shoulder, trying to make out what the lines were forming into.

The sound of a dark corridor opening made Yuki look up, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. No one was supposed to know where they were. It would be too dangerous. She relaxed though, seeing the tall figure.

"Riku," Yuki greeted calmly standing straight and crossing her arms. "What brings you here?"

"I need a word with Naminé," Riku said. His voice still sounded wrong, which Yuki expected, but it was still unnerving to her. She glanced down at Naminé who had stopped drawing clutching her sketchbook to her chest.

"About what?" Yuki asked. She knew what the answer was going to be, at she had a good idea. DiZ had already taught Riku how he was supposed to see them.

"Yuki," Naminé said calmly. She stood up and looked at Riku calmly. "It's about Kairi, right?"

"Yes. She is your other," Riku said simply. Yuki clenched her fist and stepped forward.

"And you want Naminé to help you save her. At the cost of Naminé being her own person," Yuki said. She wanted him to argue with her. Say that wasn't what he wanted. But she already knew his answer before it left his mouth.

"It's her own choice. But, it's where she belongs, isn't it?" he asked. Yuki's jaw clenched, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"Do I belong as my other?" Yuki asked. Riku took a step back in surprise. Yuki stepped towards him, feeling the anger surging through her body. The same type of anger the smaller Heartless held. "Naminé has just as much rights as anyone else does."

"What do I have to do?" Naminé asked calmly stepping around Yuki.

"Nami!" Yuki said in shock.

"Yuki, I won't be gone. I'll be whole. And, one day I'll come back. Just trust me," Naminé looked at her calmly. Her blue eyes were firm, something that always seemed difficult for her to do. Yuki sighed heavily, looking down and nodding.

"Ok. Ok. I trust you," Yuki said. She sighed again and looked up at Riku. "What's the plan?"

"You'll help?" Riku asked.

"You guys are my friends too. So what do I do to help?" Yuki asked.

X stumbled as the group entered the new world. It took him a moment to regain his balance and look around the world. And it took only a few seconds longer for him to realize he had four paws. He cursed under his breath trying to pull back his claws but failing.

Looking to Sora, Donald, and Goofy he couldn't even pretend to be surprised. Sora was a lion cub, dark brown fur with his mane shaped like his hair. His pendant hung around his neck. Goofy was a tortoise and Donald was a tropical bird. X took a moment to look over at himself. He was a light tan color with black spots. A cheetah then.

As he finished taking in the world, and getting used to the extra paws, Sora led the way through what looked like a dead savannah. They stopped encountering a group of three hyena's.

"Oh, it's you guys. Man, we were hoping you were a meal," the lead hyena, a female, said. She glared off to the side.

"Hiya!" Sora greeted cheerfully. X looked at him in shock. Did he miss the part where they were thinking about eating them?

"Don't gimme any of that 'hiya' stuff! Thanks to you clowns, we're back to scavenging scraps for a living," one of the other hyena's said. The last hyena laughed.

"C'mon, it's not that bad. I enjoyed that week-dead elephant we had yesterday," the female hyena said.

"Hey, how's Simba?" Sora asked. The female hyena laughed.

"We gotta laugh every time we hear that dude's name," the make hyena said chuckling.

"Ooh. Say it again!" the female hyena challenged.

"Simba!" the male hyena said.

"One more time!" the female hyena said through her laughter.

"Simba!" the male said. The female kept laughing. "Simba!" All three fell into laughter after the final pronouncement of the name. X wasn't sure who this Simba was, but it seemed like he was a huge joke in this world.

"That's enough!" Sora said, flicking his tail in annoyance.

"Go on then, see for yourself. Simba is one wishy-washy king," the female hyena said, letting her chuckle die out. She snorted as she and her companions turned their back on them.

"Yeah, I bet about now, even some of those high and mighty lionesses were wishin' they'd gotten themselves a different king," the male hyena said. They walked away, not giving the group further comment. X flicked his tail and flattened his ears, looking at Sora and the others.

"Gawrsh, whaddya think coulda happened?" Goofy asked.

"Well, let's go find Simba and see," Sora said. His eyes were focused on where the hyena's had disappeared.

Sora led the way through the savannah. X found it annoying how hard it was to keep pace with them. Not because Sora was particularly fast. But because X easily outpaced all of them. He would get ahead, stop for a moment to let them catch up then try to match their pace, only to quickly outpace them again. It didn't take long for them to reach a large rock. Darkness was filling the air, hanging heavy on their fur. X raised his hackles, as the image of a lion appeared before them. The lion was thin with a black mane and darker fur.

"Scar!?" Sora said in shock. He ran toward the lion, only for it to disappear as he reached it. "Huh?"

"A ghost?" Donald asked.

"We better tell Simba about this. Wonder if he's up there," Goofy said, looking up toward the rock formation.

Sora led the way up to the rock formation. X followed behind warily, carefully putting one paw in front of the other. The air was filled with resentment. So strong X almost felt the emotion well up inside him. What was going on in this pride?

"Have you come to see Simba?"

X jumped hearing the unfamiliar voice. His hackles were raised as he turned to see a lioness standing in front of them. He relaxed, willing his fur to lie flat. He was not a fan of this world much either. The tail was still annoying.

"We saw Scar's ghost!" Sora said. The lioness nodded.

"An omen like that could only be foretelling the end of our pride. Yet, King Simba won't do a thing. I guess just being the son of the great King Mufasa doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to rule the kingdom himself," she said. X blinked in surprise. Did they assume that was how it worked around here?

"Trust me, Simba will think of something," Sora said firmly.

"The time for thinking is past. We need him to take action- as his father would have done. He ruled with courage and pride. I remember it like it was yesterday. The mighty Mufasa," the lioness said, looking up as she reminisced. X suspected that she would criticize Simba regardless. It was rare for followers to accept new ways of doing things.

"Simba'll do all that, too. You'll see," Sora said, still standing firm with his belief. The lioness looked away.

"I'm not so sure," she said.

"Wait here. I want to talk to Simba," Sora said. He ran past the lioness, going into a den up the rock. X followed with Donald and Goofy, looking out over the savannah. It looked dead, long dead. It was a wonder the pride was surviving.

Entering the den X was greeted with his first glimpse of Simba. He looked just as one would expect any lion to look. A tan muscled cat, with a full red mane. Nothing special. Why did they think he was fit to be king?

"You came back," Simba said, looking up at them. His eyes landed on X for a moment, but moved on to Sora quickly. He didn't look like he could be bothered to question the new member of the group.

"Are you ok?" Donald asked.

"You don't look so good," Goofy commented. He was right. He looked weak and defeated. Like he could just lay in the den all day and do nothing.

"Hey, Simba. Why don't we team up and do something about that Scar ghost? Seems like everybody's worried about it. So, now's your big chance to show 'wm what you're really made of!" SOra said cheerfully. X flattened his ears. Sora really needed to learn tact.

"That doesn't concern you!" Simba snapped, his teeth bared in a snarl. X mimicked the move without thinking, snarling as he stepped in front of the others who were too shocked to move. Simba quickly backed down, his eyes widening before he looked away. "Sorry..."

"It's ok," Sora said. He glanced to X, who stepped back. He kept his eyes focused on Simba. Something was wrong with this king.

"I just wish I knew what my father would do," Simba said laying his head down again.

"But he's not here, Simba. It's all up to you now. And that means the important thing is what you're gonna do being the king. Not what your father woulda done," Goofy said. Simba slowly looked up at them.

"So you're saying...it's all up to me," Simba said. X frowned. That shouldn't have ever been a question. Simba's heart was far too confused to be given such an important position. It would only lead to chaos as it already had.

"See, there ya go!" Sora said.

"Exactly!"

X glanced over his shoulder to see the two new arrivals. A meerkat and warthog. X supposed it was a miracle they hadn't been eaten yet.

"We know your dad was a great king, and all. But now it's your turn. Remember what I taught ya. 'You gotta put the past behind you.' It's time to go out there and show everybody things are gonna be just fine!" the meerkat said, motioning broadly with its paws.

"Yeah, you can do it!" Sora said.

"You gotta live for today!" the meerkat said.

"And find your own path!" the warthog added.

"Live for today. And find my own path, not my father's," Simba echoed.

"That's it!" Sora said happily. X couldn't share in the happiness though. He might be saying those things, but he didn't believe them yet.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Simba."

X had look again for the new voice. This time it was a lioness, who was a more sandy color than the last one they had met and seemed younger too.

"Nala!" Donald greeted.

"Promise me you'll help Simba any way you can," Nala said.

"As long as Sora handles the dangerous parts!" the meerkat said. Sora nodded without a thought, making X sigh.

"I'm counting on you Simba, and so is our baby," Nala said, brushing up against Simba. X blinked a few times and shook his head. With Simba as he was now, a child probably wasn't a good idea. He was too at war with himself to be any use as a parent. Though if he remembered correctly female lions did all the child-rearing.

"Great! Now we're going to have to babysit!" the meerkat complained. His outburst caused the group to laugh, easing the tense mood that hung around them.

"Let's go see Rafiki first. I'm sure he'll be able to tell us something about that ghost," Simba said. The group nodded following his lead through the savannah.

X once again found himself ahead of the group without trying. Instead of trying to pace himself he full-on sprinted, running circles around the group because he could. He heard a conversation in the group, Sora and Simba chuckling about something. But he ignored for the sake of running. It wasn't long until they were at a stone hollow, meeting with a monkey of some kind. Maybe. X wasn't sure what it was.

"Oh ho ho! The king- he is ready to be king?" the monkey asked, looking closely at Simba.

"I think so," Simba replied. X frowned at the response. Not a very good one.

"Can you tell us about Scar's ghost?" Sora asked.

"Oh, yes, the ghost. A being with no body. It is created when the evil heart of Scar meets the hesitating heart of Simba," Rafiki explained, looking down sadly. X nodded in understanding. Though he wasn't sure how this ghost came to be, it seemed he was right about Simba's hesitation.

"Hesitating?" Simba asked.

"Ohhhh. You thought you were not?" Rafiki asked.

"Gwarsh, that ghost sounds just like a Heartless," Goofy said worriedly. X flicked his tail. He was reminded more of a different dark creature. One no one had seen in years.

"Something like that," X agreed.

"Hmm, I don't know," Sora said.

"You're right, you don't," Rafiki said. X was surprised by that bit of blunt honesty and looked at the monkey with wide eyes. "But you do know it is upsetting. And it is upsetting the hearts of everybody in the Pride Lands. You may not know what it is, but it still IS. This world, it is full of many such things. And these things, a king must face. It is the test that has been set for you, Simba."

X was greatly impressed by Rafiki's words of wisdom. It seemed he was the only one in this world that had any common sense.

"That's all? Come on. You have to tell us more about the ghost," Simba said.

"No, not today! But the hyenas in the elephant graveyard may know more. Does not matter, though. There is little the Simba of late can do," Rafiki said turning his back on the group.

"Aw, don't say that! Not when he's ready to try!" Sora said, jumping a little on his paws.

"In his head, perhaps, but what about his heart?" Rafiki asked.

"Forget it, Sora. Let's head for the elephant graveyard," Simba said turning his back on Rafiki. The rest of the group followed him, X the slowest. This didn't seem like a good idea. Rafiki was right. Simba's heart was too chaotic. It could lead to quite the problem.

He seemed to be the only one with that worry as they cornered the hyena's in the elephant graveyard.

"Whoa!" Sora called as they skidded to a stop in front of the hyena's.

"Hey, you!" Donald said.

"Aw, c'mon, can't you guys just leave us alone?" the male hyena asked in annoyance.

"Do you three know anything about Scar's ghost?" Simba asked.

"Huh? Scar's ghost?" the female hyena asked, looking around as if she was trying to recall what Simba was talking about. X had a feeling she very well knew what was going on. The third hyena laughed, which had been the only thing X had heard out of him yet.

"Maaaybe," the male hyena said, mimicking the motion from his female companion.

"You do know," Sora said, crouching forward on his paws, preparing to spring. The hyena's shared a look before they turned tail and ran into the elephant skeletons.

Chasing down the hyena's was a nightmare. X darted after one, he thought it was the female but he wasn't sure. Luckily his speed was vastly greater than hers, he easily caught up to her, swiping her feet out from under her. She collapsed to the ground, and X stood with a paw on her shoulder and his dagger, held in his mouth, pointed at her throat.

He glanced up to see the others working on catching the other two. It looked like they would have them with only a few moments. Sure enough, he watched as Sora took down the male hyena and Simba take down the third.

They were gathered in a group, the three hyena's looking up at the odd group of lions, cheetah, bird, and tortoise.

"Oh no, I guess you caught us all," the male hyena said sarcastically.

"What're we gonna do?" the female hyena said, just as sarcastically. The third hyena laughed, looking between his two companions.

"Tell me about Scar's ghost!" Simba demanded.

"Sorrrry. We don't know nothin'," the male hyena said.

"Ooh, wait! It's coming back to me! That's the one who only hangs around fraidy cats. Right, Banzai?" the female hyena asked, turning to look at the male hyena. Simba growled stepping forward, slamming his paw on the ground.

"Enough!" Simba roared. The third hyena began to laugh, as X felt the fur on the back of his neck stand up more than it already was.

"And there it is," Banzai said mockingly. The group turned quickly, facing the ghostly lion that was slowly stalking toward Simba.

"Must be a fraidy cat around here somewhere!" the female hyena said, laughing to herself.

"Simba! Do something!" Sora yelled. Simba only took a few steps back, his tail dropping to the ground.

"How does it feel to be king, hmm? Why, you must be a truly inspiring ruler by now," Scar's ghost said, slowly prowling toward Simba. Simba backed away, horror spreading across his face. "After all, you are the son of the great Mufasa."

Simba turned tail and ran. Sora stopped watching him with a dropped jaw.

"Where are you going?" Sora called.

"Ah, Simba, running away as always," Scar's ghost said before vanishing where it stood. Almost as if it had been caused by Simba's presence.

"Simba!" Sora called. The three hyena's laughed and left themselves, disappearing behind the skeletons.

"Gawrsh, Rafiki was right," Goofy said worriedly.

"You mean, Simba's still unsure?" Sora asked, looking to his friends.

"His heart is a storm," X said softly. He had rarely seen a heart in such conflict, and when he had, well they weren't pleasant memories.

"Do ya think there's some way we can help?" Goofy asked.

"Hmm. We should start by talking to Simba some more. Let's head back to the Pride Lands," Sora decided. X nodded in agreement. There was nothing that could be done without Simba around.

Sora led them to the den they had first met Simba at. There they found Nala and Rafiki, along with the meerkat and warthog X hadn't yet learned the names of. But Simba was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Simba?" Nala asked, taking a step forward.

"Well, uh..." Sora began but soon trailed off. He didn't want to explain it. And X couldn't blame him.

"Oh ho ho! He ran away! I knew it would not be easy for him. To face his fears, he must go somewhere where the only thing to think of is what to do, not what others think of him," Rafiki said, seeming unsurprised by the turn of events.

"Why didn't you just say so?" Sora asked in annoyance.

"But where's Simba now?" Donald asked.

"Hey, I know! He's at the oasis. It's our favorite hangout!" the meerkat offered up.

"Got it! Let's check it out," Sora said.

"I'll lead the way!" the warthog said, standing proudly. The meerkat jumped in front of him waving his arms.

"Oh, no you won't! Simba'll smell you coming a mile away. And if he's smart, he'll run for the hills!" he said, putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh, right," the warthog said.

Sora was once again in the lead, taking them past the savannah to the jungle. X kept pace staying at an easy walk for him. It seemed the others were rushing, so he tried his best not to show off and beat them there.

Reaching the jungle they found Simba at the edge of a cliff, Scar's ghost slowly prowling toward him, pushing him further and further back. Before long Simba would fall, and X doubted he would survive it.

"Simba!" Sora yelled, jumping forward to chase off the ghost. The ghost vanished as soon as Sora landed. Simba didn't look relieved, instead, he turned away from Sora.

"It's no use. I'll never be the king my father was," Simba said. X gave a heavy sigh staying back. It seemed Simba would never learn.

"But Simba, that's not what you're supposed to be," Sora said calmly. "You can't be Mufasa. You can only be you. Everybody believes in you as a king. They just want to see what you'll do. And if anyone's saying they liked your father better, it's because you haven't done much yet. That's all."

"I know that," Simba said.

"Then stop moping and do something!" Sora insisted.

"I can't!" Simba snapped. Sora looked at him with shock. After a moment he looked away with a frown.

"Fine," Sora said.

"Let's go, Sora," Donald said, turning away.

"Yeah. Why stick around if he's not even gonna try?" Sora asked. He and Donald wandered off. X frowned, looking between Simba and where Sora had been. He really didn't know how hard it was for Sora to give up on his friends. But Simba must have pushed him past that limit. X slowly followed, leaving only Goofy behind. "C'mon Goofy!" Sora called. Goofy followed, meeting the others behind a log where they were waiting.

In moments a ghost of Scar appeared, facing down Simba again.

"The hesitant king will one day lose all his friends," Sora said, attempting a spooky voice. X looked at him in confusion.

"King Simba the doubtful," Donald added, mimicking Sora's attempt.

"Worried by a silly ol' ghost," Goofy said.

"Ooh, Simba the do-nothing king," Sora said.

"Are you trying to help him or destroy him?" X asked in a whisper. Sora only smirked glancing back at Simba.

"No!" Simba yelled.

"Try and stop me!" Donald mocked.

Simba lept forward, taking out in the ghost easily. Sora jumped over the log running over to Simba, Donald, Goofy, and X following him.

"You all are so lucky that worked!" X said as they stopped.

"You did it! The ghost is gone!" Sora said happily, ignoring X's objections and disbelief.

"We knew you could do it!" Donald said.

"Hooray for Simba!" Goofy said.

"You know, I'm really lucky to have friends who'll stand by me and help me see clearly. My father wasn't so fortunate," Simba said looking down. X could see in his eyes, his mind and heart were coming together.

"There you go again," Sora said with a pout.

"I mean, everyone here, and in the Pride Lands, wants me to succeed. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Pumbaa, Timon, Rafiki, Nala. You all want what's best for me. But my father always had Scar lurking behind his back, trying to cut him down. I've got to make the best of my blessings, and rebuild this kingdom," Simba said, nodding to himself.

"Are you gonna say it, or do it?" Sora asked, leaning forward so he looked like a kitten about to pounce on a toy.

"Wait and see," Simba said with a smirk.

"Simba!"

The group turned quickly to see the meerkat running into the jungle, somehow managing to look pale in the face even with all his fur.

"Simba! Come quick! There's a bazillion ghosts of Scar haunting the Pride Lads! Everybody but Nala high-tailed it out of there. And now she needs your help," he said quickly. Simba gasped and took off running. "Our little Simba, all grown up and finding his place in the world."

"Nice try. You're coming too!" Simba yelled, spurring the group into motion.

They reached the den to find the warthog protecting Nala. As promised they were the only two left.

"We're here!" Sora announced as they entered the area, taking out as many ghosts of Scar as they could on the way.

"Where's Simba?" Nala asked nervously.

The group stepped to the side and bowed as Simba entered with his head held high.

"I've come back, Nala," Simba said. Scar's ghost turned toward. Simba growled, stepping toward the ghost. "Get out!" he roared, the ghost disappearing.

"Way to go, Simba!" Sora cheered.

X frowned looking over his shoulder toward the savannah, he could feel a mass of darkness converging behind them.

"We have trouble," X announced. The group turned and looked as the darkness formed into a ball where it was. X suspected a giant Heartless.

"Are you with me?" Simba asked.

"Now and forever, Your Majesty!" Sora said with a bow.

They went to the savannah confronting the giant Heartless. It was a little more difficult than it might have been in any other world. Their small size made it difficult to jump up onto it back where they needed to be to cause any damage. X took the task of running underneath its feet and keeping it distracted while the others dealt damage. He was grateful for the speed boost he got from this world.

After beating the Heartless they returned to the den once again.

"Simba seems fine now," Sora said, watching Simba interact with Nala.

"The storm has calmed," X confirmed calmly.

"Ha! The king has returned! The Pride Lands will not forget King Simba's courage. Or the courage of those who fought beside him," Rafiki said.

"Do you think your quest will ever be over?" Simba asked, looking down at Sora.

"I don't know," Sora admitted. "But I think, as long as the Keybalde stays with me, I'll have to keep fighting."

"Ahh, the struggle never ends. That is the great Circle of Life," Rafiki said solemnly.

"Never ever?" Sora asked.

"The secret to victory, is a strong heart," Rafiki said.

"Good thing we have that covered," X said looking over at Sora. Rafiki laughed and pointed up to the sky.

"Go on, go on, go- go then! Go on, get out! Yes, yes! It is time! Your fight continues," he said.

"Till we meet again, Your Majesty," Sora said bowing to Simba once more.

"I hope that's soon," Simba said.

"It will be! So long!" Sora said, smiling brightly.

_~~~~~***~~~~~_  
_A/N: I think it should just be noted these last two chapters have been so fun to write. When writing X in general I think of him like a cat when he's fighting. It takes a lot of effort not to use every cat reference I can think of when writing for him. And in these last two chapters, I've been able to use all the cat ideas. X is just a cat in a human body, and the last two chapters finally showed it._


	31. Chapter XXX

**Chapter XXX; Weaver of Hearts**

Returning to Hollow Bastion once again, they were quickly surrounded by Heartless of various varieties, but none that X had seen before. He glared around him after getting rid of the first wave. Sora looked around in confusion, taking note of where more Heartless were appearing and vanishing off to terrorize the town.

"Wait a sec, I thought everything was supposed to be under control here!" Sora said. As they looked around the Town's Defense system started up. It didn't seem to be much help.

"Hey, look!" Donald said, pointing toward even more Heartless.

"Must be Organization XIII again. We better go see Leon," Sora said, turning to the group who all nodded in agreement.

They went to the Borough, meeting with Yuffie there. It looked like she had been tasked with taking out the Heartless in town. She looked tired, though still somehow full of energy at the same time.

"Come on in!" Yuffie said, leading the way toward Merlin's house. The gathering place they usually had.

"Wait just a second," Sora said as they followed Yuffie. "What happened to this place?" he asked.

"Didn't that Heartless look like the ones from Tron's world?" Goofy asked. That would explain why X had no idea what they were. He hadn't seen that world before.

"C'mon, just get inside!" Yuffie said, ushering them into the house. Cid was at the computer, typing something on his computer quickly. "Hurry up, Cid!" Yuffie complained as she bounded over to the computer.

"Give me a second!" Cid snapped back, continuing his work on the computer. X watched lines of code scroll across the screen. He didn't catch enough of it to know what was going on, but he was sure Y could have figured it out in a second.

"Confound it! Hurry!" Merlin said, echoing Yuffie's plea. Whatever this was it didn't seem they could get it done fast enough.

"Why, you-!" Cid complained.

"What's going on?" Sora asked. Cid spun his chair around facing the group.

"Talk about yer good timin'!" he said.

"The MCP is wreaking havoc inside the computer," Yuffie explained briefly. X frowned, he could remember the ominous voice that had spoken before taking Sora, Donald, and Goofy into the computer. He guessed they hadn't really handled the problem.

"Not again!" Donald complained.

"Accordin' to Leon, anyway," Cid explained, turning back around to his computer to continue his work on whatever was so important. "He went on over to Ansem's study to find out what all the ruckus was about. Turns out the MCP is using the data in that computer to crank out Heartless. The MCP's been messin' around with the town's control system, too."

"That MCP sure doesn't know when to quit, does it?" Yuffie said, placing her hands on her hips.

"That's a computer program for ya," Cid said.

"How's Tron doing?" Sora asked.

"We can't reach him. We figure he must have been forced onto the game grid," Yuffie explained.

"And it don't sound like a particularly fun game, either," Cid added calmly.

"Awww," Donald said, slumping forward.

"We'll go check on Tron," Sora said with a nod. X wasn't surprised that was his decision.

"Thanks, kid. We're puttin' together an MCP Eradication program. I got a hunch it's almost finished, too," Cid said.

"Well, I hope your hunch is right for once!" Merlin said. Cid glared at the wizard over his shoulder before looking back at his computer.

"Listen, we're gonna need Tron's help when that Eradicator's completed," Yuffie began.

"Don't sweat it. We'll make sure to tell Tron!" Sora said quickly, without a thought.

"Remember, boys- we're counting on you," Merlin said.

"Roger!" Sora said, saluting along with Donald and Goofy. X stood casually and rolled his eyes at their actions.

They made their way through the town heading into Ansems study without much getting in their way. Entering the computer room behind the study they were greeted by Leon holding his gunblade and Yuki, holding both of her keyblades at the ready. X blinked a few times in confusion, but brush it away. Yuki did manage to get around rather quickly.

"Gawrsh, it's only us!" Goofy said quickly. Yuki and Leon lowered their weapons, though they didn't seem very calm.

"You can't talk to Tron if this room gets taken over," Aerith said, stepping away from the computer. She had been behind the two who were armed.

"Did you check in with Cid?" Leon asked, crossing his arms. Sora nodded. "And the Eradicator?" he asked.

"It's almost done," Donald said.

"Great! Say, Leon, why don't you go work with Cid? Yuki and I have this place under control," Aerith suggested turning toward Leon. Leon looked at her warily.

"Are you sure? All by yourselves?" Leon asked. Yuki and Aerith both looked at him with narrowed eyes. X held back a chuckle as Leon stepped back from them. "Er, sorry. It's all yours."

"How's Tron?" Sora asked.

"We still can't get in touch with him. Maybe you guys should give it a shot," Leon suggested.

"No, we'll go talk to him in person," Sora said simply.

"Then I have a favor to ask. When you find Tron, could you tell him to come to the I/O tower? That's where we'll upload the MCP Eradication program," Leon said. X suspected Sora had no idea what that even meant. But he didn't show it, only nodded as if he understood.

"The I/O tower. Got it!" Goofy said.

"Thanks. And watch your backs," Leon said as he left the room to go help Cid. Sora approached the computer, slowly looking at the screen.

"You guys ready?" he asked looking over his shoulder.

"Um, I'm sitting this out. Computers are not my thing. I'll stay back and help Yuki. Or clear out the town," X said, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced at Yuki who nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, I could use the help. These ones are stubborn," Yuki said.

"Oh, ok," Sora said. "We'll see you both when we get out then."

"Yeah, see ya," Yuki agreed, smiling. Sora tilted his head in a bit of confusion, seeming to realize something he hadn't before.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Sora asked.

"Helping?" Yuki answered, rubbing the back of her head. Although her answer had sounded like a question. "I'll explain after you fix this all ok? We got things to do."

Sora nodded before going into the computer with Donald and Goofy leaving Yuki and X with Aerith. Yuki turned to the brunette woman, an easy smile on her face. It was strange she was so relaxed.

"We're going to get rid of as many as we can. Can you hold down the fort?" Yuki asked. Aerith nodded.

"Of course. Be careful," Aerith said with a nod.

"I always am," Yuki said turning away from her.

"Since when?" X asked. Yuki shot him a glare. The corner of her mouth turned up into a slight smile. She didn't say another word as they went into town taking out Heartless as they went. X was impressed with Yuki's new abilities. She was easily forcing the Heartless to bend to her will, freezing small groups at a time before cutting them down. Her keyblades moved fluidly, like an extension of her arms. "You've gotten better," he said.

"Had some practice," Yuki said. She froze another group with her eyes, seeming more like ice than X had ever seen. He shot forward and cut down the Heartless.

"So it seems, your majesty," X said sarcastically. Queen or not, he still had to tease her. That's what friends were for, right. Yuki stopped and glared at him. X stopped as well, tilting his head the side. "What did I say this time?"

"You knew?" Yuki asked.

"Knew what?" X asked.

"That I was the queen. And you never said anything," Yuki said crossing her arms and looking down on X. X blinked a few times in shock. He didn't know what it was about Yuki that made her come off as so powerful. She just was.

"To be fair, I thought you knew. You're supposed to know on instinct where you fall, and who's above you," X said.

"When have I ever done what I'm supposed to?" Yuki asked. X snorted looking away.

"Fair point."

The pair continued their work through the town. They were in the area that X thought was once the outer gardens when they saw quite the unexpected sight.

A group of people was grouped behind a girl that for a moment X almost thought was Yuki. Until he remembered she was still beside him, and this girl only had one keyblade. She had long black hair and icy blue eyes, that after a thorough look X realized were a shade or so lighter than Yuki's but only just. She wore something like a school uniform, a black jacket with white lines tracing around it and a red bow around her neck. Her skirt was black and she had grey thigh high socks as well.

Her keyblade was blue with darker blue designs inlaid. The guard around her hand looked like angel wings. The teeth were heart-shaped with a crown where the two arms met. It was vaguely familiar to X like he had seen it somewhere before. But he brushed it off as Yuki joined the girl in her fight against the Heartless. X sighed before he too joined them. With the three of them, it only took moments to get rid of the Heartless. The people the girl had been protecting scattered, leaving her alone with X and Yuki.

"That was pretty impressive," Yuki said. She was smiling at the girl, clearly impressed by what she had seen. The girl gave a sheepish smile in return.

"Thanks, you two weren't so bad yourselves. I didn't know anyone else had one of these things," the girl replied, lifting up her keyblade as she spoke. Yuki nodded with a chuckle looking at her own keyblades.

"Honestly, there are way more than you think," X said. He looked between the two wielders, trying to keep his face in a neutral expression. It was hard when he was actually thinking about what keyblades were.

"Really?" the girl asked.

"Really," C replied. Too many in his opinion.

"What's your name?" Yuki asked.

"I'm Sakura, Sakura Andrews. What are your names?" the girl replied.

"Yuki, no last name included." Yuki looked confused for a moment like she was thinking about why she had no last name. X suppressed another snicker.

"X, don't ask. Long story," he said before even giving the strangeness to set in. Sakura nodded, her face seeming confused, but she didn't ask.

"Ok then," She decided. "Are you guys new here? I don't think I remember you." She looked between them as if trying to place them.

"Not exactly a resident, but we've been around," Yuki said rubbing the back of her head as she looked at X. He nodded in agreement. They had been here off and on. "What about you?"

"I've lived here most my life, after I found my way back," Sakura answered. X was at first concerned by what that meant but realized that this world had disappeared. That had to be what she meant. "I stayed in Traverse Town while this place was in the darkness, but we always find our way home."

"Much training with that key?" X asked, nodding towards it. He couldn't shake the feeling he knew that key. It was important for something.

"Not really. Just, does what it wants to for the most part," Sakura said. She looked down at the and X followed her gaze. Self-trained type seemed to be popping up more and more often. Though he doubted she hadn't had a succession ceremony. He was sure even Yuki had to have one of those.

"You know, we could use an extra hand clearing the Heartless out. You want to come with us?" Yuki offered. Sakura brightened up quickly. X had a feeling she didn't spend a lot of time around people her age.

"Sure," Sakura agreed.

The group continued their rounds through the city. Having Sakura was helpful. Unlike Yuki and X she had at least a basic grasp of magic and could use it without tiring herself out too quickly. They made a surprisingly good team and managed to clear out the town. At least the Heartless numbers were returning to normal when they met Yuffie. She exchanged a nod with Sakura, which Yuki guessed meant they knew each other.

"What's going on?" Yuki asked.

"I don't know, things are calming down though. I'm heading to the computer room. You three wanna tag along?" Yuffie asked.

"Sure," Yuki said, glancing to her two companions. Bith X and Sakura nodded.

They returned to the computer room where Aerith and Leon were by the computer. They looked at the group curiously.

"Things are settling down in town! The only Heartless left anywhere are the local variety. And it looks like there are fewer than before," Yuffie said.

"Now if we can just get those three back in one piece," Aerith said looking back at the computer. Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion looking at Yuki and X.

"They'll be fine," X said simply. No sooner did he speak when Sora, Donald, and Goofy reappeared. They looked a little letdown, Sora staring at the ground sadly.

"You're here!" Aerith said happily.

"Welcome back!" Yuffie greeted. Sora nodded slowly.

"How's the town?" Sora asked.

"A-ok!" Yuffie confirmed.

"Not a single trace of the MCP, either. Everything's back to normal. We made it," Aerith said, explaining Yuffies point further. Yuki frowned stepping forward, even with only good news Sora looked upset.

"Something wrong Sora?" Yuki asked.

"Tron just disappeared," Donald answered for Sora.

"And he promised we'd see him again," Sora added. An alarm blared making the entire room go on edge.

"What's happening!?" Aerith asked. The alarm ceased quickly, a tense silence filling the room.

"Greetings, friends. System is up, and ready for User input," a friendly voice said. Yuki couldn't pinpoint the sound, so she turned to the computer.

"Tron!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy said together.

"Stay in touch," Tron said.

"Yeah!" Sora said, his frown already gone. Donald ran to the computer looking at the keys hopefully.

"Oh boy, oh boy!" Donald said as he began to type.

"Hey stop that! It tickles!" Tron complained, holding back laughter.

"Tron is ticklish?" Goofy asked. Sora walked toward the computer a grin on his face as he stopped in front of the keyboard. Yuki grinned and chuckled, Sora was clearly up to something.

"Sora," Yuki said in warning. Sora ignored her.

"How 'bout this!" Sora said, beginning to type nonsense. Tron burst into laughter, unable to control himself.

"Please stop that!" Tron pleaded. Sora and Donald laughed and Sora continued his typing.

"I think Tron's been hanging around those guys too much," Yuffie said with a chuckle. X nodded in agreement.

"Looks like."

"He seems like a lot of fun," Sakura said with a chuckle, looking at Sora with something near admiration. Yuki couldn't blame her, he had that effect on people.

"He definitely is," Yuki agreed.

"W-wait, wait just a moment. I want to show you something I dug up from the system archives," Tron said through his laughter. Sora stopped and looked at the screen in interest. "You can see the town back when it was first built."

An image popped onto the screen of a garden filled with flowers surrounded by brick. Yuki gasped taking a step toward it. She knew that place. The group walked outside of the building to the postern, looking out over the city. Yuki could almost see what it used to be when it wasn't destroyed. The gardens and the homes Kiu had been fond of. It was all overlayed over the town in her mind.

"You know, this town had another name once," Aerith said, smiling softly as she looked over the town. Yuki suspected she could see what it used to be too.

"Hm?" Sora asked.

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot this was the same place," X said, slightly smirking.

"Radiant Gardens," Aerith said.

"Home," Yuki said softly.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed.

After the town seemed to calm down the group that had two more than usual walked around, looking up and down streets that seemed to have new hope.

"So Yuki, who's your new friend?" Sora asked, looking around Yuki to Sakura.

"Sora, meet Sakura Andrews. Native of Radiant Gardens and a keyblade wielder," Yuki said, motioning to where Sakura was on her other side. Sora's eyes brightened in excitement.

"Really! That's so cool!" Sora said excitedly.

"Thanks. It's nice meeting you," Sakura said.

"Yeah!" Sora agreed. "Does your family live around here?"

"Used to," Sakura answered putting her hands behind her back as she looked forward. "Now it's just me. My parents died when I was a baby. And well, after that I was in a different world for a while. When I came back Masako, a really nice older woman took care of me with her two granddaughters. But, after the world fell and came back I was alone," she explained sadly. Yuki frowned looking at her. She had seen another world beside Traverse Town. She had said something about that before, but Yuki hadn't thought of the reason.

"That's awful. So, you don't have anyone?" Yuki asked.

"It's not so bad," Sakura said with a shrug. Yuki felt a wave of sadness from her heart, so she guessed she was lying. "Leon helps me out a lot, and all the rest of the HBRC too."

"Well, I suppose," Yuki said. "But count yourself a little less lonely now."

"Yeah! You have five new friends!" Sora said looking to all of the group. Donald and Goffy nodded and Yuki smiled at her. X frowned.

"I didn't agree to this," he said. Yuki rolled her eyes and playfully pushed him. He shouldn't joke like that around people who didn't know him. They might take him seriously.

"What, some kind of edge lord who has no friends?" Sakura asked crossing her arms and looking at X in challenge. Yuki burst out laughing, quickly covering her mouth to try and stifle her laugh. X grinned looking at Sakura.

"Says a girl who looks like she just walked out of school," X said sarcastically.

"X, you can't fault her for being right," Yuki said.

"Sure I can," X replied.

"Well, then looks like I'm going to have to fault you for being right too," Sakura said looking down at her clothes. Their eyes met and they all laughed once again. When their laughs faded silence returned. But only for a moment.

"Hey, Yuki. Why were you here anyway?" Sora asked, suddenly remembering Yuki's promise to explain.

"Just making a stop before going to Twilight Town. There ended up being trouble so I stayed," Yuki explained.

"Why are you going to Twilight Town?" Sora asked.

"Promised someone a favor," Yuki replied. She frowned as she remembered what her promise had been. She didn't like standing down and letting these sort of things happen. Not to the people she wanted to protect.

"Who?" Sora asked.

"A friend," Yuki said.

"What friend?" Sora asked. Yuki sighed and looked away.

"One we share," she said, trying not to break her promise.

"You've seen Riku!" Sora said happily. Yuki looked at him in shock. They had to have more friends in common than him. But she supposed he was the first place her mind would have gone as well.

"Wow, you jumped to Riku quick," she said. She sighed again and smiled softly. "Listen, strictly speaking. I'm not supposed to tell you I've seen him. But, yeah."

"He's ok!" Sora said happily.

"Of course he is," Yuki said crossing her arms.

"That means when this is all over we can go back to the island together," Sora said. Yuki's smile dropped and she looked away from him.

She wasn't sure she would ever return to the islands. Not with everything as different as it was. She didn't belong in such a normal place. Not with all she had done.

"Yuki?" Sakura said, lightly touching her shoulder. Yuki looked up at the sudden contact, her eyes wide.

"Munny for your thoughts?" Sora asked.

Yuki tried her best not to flinch, but the words sounded so foreign coming from Sora. She hoped he hadn't noticed but his concerned expression only seemed to deepen.

"Uh, nothing. Just been a long time since I've been to the islands. It's weird to think about going back right now," Yuki answered quickly. Sora nodded and silence returned to the group. Sakura hadn't moved her hand from where she had tapped Yuki, a gentle reminder.

"Oh! I just remembered!" Sora said coming to a stop. "Pooh's storybook! We need to go help him!"

"Gawrsh, you're right Sora," Goofy said.

"We'll see you guys later!" Sora said with a wave before he ran off with Donald and Goofy. X sighed watching them go but didn't move to follow them.

"He's like an energetic puppy," Sakura said, a light laugh following.

"That's, one way to put it," X said.

"No, she's right," Yuki said with a nod. "But Sora will be Sora." That was right. He couldn't be anyone else. It just wasn't possible anymore.

"Yuki, since you're a keyblade wielder I have a question," Sakura said. Yuki turned to her with her head tilted to the side.

"Sure. I don't promise an answer, because I really don't know a lot about them," Yuki said. Her knowledge was limited. Most she had learned from others and she wouldn't say they were always reliable sources.

"Have you ever seen a big weaving while using your keyblade?" Sakura asked. Yuki frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. She had never seen anything while using her keyblade. Nothing like that anyway. Only what was normal to see. Her enemies in front of her and where hearts were around her.

"No, never," Yuki said.

"Huh," Sakura said looking down.

"That's actually an old story," X said. Yuki and Sakura both looked at him with interest. He was smirking slightly, and Yuki was beginning to think she knew why X had been so fascinated by her earlier. "The Weaver of Hearts. Someone who can weave and unweave light and darkness from hearts, and even some say Kingdom Hearts itself. That's a rare gift you have."

"Not sure if I should say thank you, or if I should pretend I never heard any of that," Sakura said, blinking a few times in shock.

"Sounds like a big job. But, I have a feeling you can handle it," Yuki said.

"Just stay out of trouble, and you should be fine," X said, waving off her concern. Yuki was sure he knew more and just wasn't saying anything, as was the usual for him.

"But if you do find yourself in trouble, we'll help you out," Yuki offered.

"Thanks," Sakura said. "So, I take it you two have to leave?" She looked almost disappointed.

"I have to be sure Sora doesn't get too sidetracked," X said, glancing in the direction Sora had run off in.

"And I have to go help Riku's plan fall into place," Yuki said.

"This Riku sounds like an interesting guy. Sora really cares about him," Sakura noted. Yuki nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, him and Sora have been friends since they could walk. They always lived on the islands. Maybe we'll get a chance to introduce you guys someday," she said, grinning slightly. She didn't know why, but she got the feeling Riku would like Sakura.

"I think I'd like that," Sakura said.

X saluted to the group before walking off. Yuki was used to his no touching policy, unless Y was there. She had free rights to break that rule whenever she so chose to. Yuki gave Sakura a quick hug, glad for the short moment of comfort.

"Oh, I just had a thought. The two girls with Masako along with you, what were their names?" Yuki asked as she pulled back. Sakura tipped her head to the side in confusion.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Well, if we see them we can send them your way," Yuki offered. Sakura smiled.

"Kairi and Kiu. They were sisters," Sakura said. Yuki did her best to keep her jaw from dropping. "See you around." Sakura waved once more before turning and walking away.

"Yeah, see ya," Yuki said quietly. She wasn't even sure Sakura had heard her.

They would definitely have to come back here when everything was over.

_~~~~~***~~~~~_  
_A/N: So, if you didn't happen to notice there is a cameo of khgirl678's oc Sakura Andrews. Her stories are all over on Wattpad where I usually publish my stuff first. I absolutely love her work and had a lot of fun writing Yuki and X with Sakura. If you have not read her work, you really should. She writes for a lot of other series as well and does a great job with all her stories. Recently she has been doing a lot of edits and they're all making her stories even better. Seriously, check her out if you haven't._

_Gry23- Always great to hear from you! I honestly haven't decided a lot for KH3 yet, or any sort of adventure like that that might take place. But that is an awesome idea. I may not use it exactly but it has given me some inspiration for scenes I might do. Thanks for taking the time to tell me your ideas! I really love hearing them! :D_


	32. Chapter XXXI

**Chapter XXXI; Sunset Heart**

Twilight Town never got old to Yuki. No matter how many times she had seen the red brick roads and the trams passing by as the sunset. It was always special. Always somehow different. Standing on top of the clock tower Yuki watched her town. Her hand went to her pocket, holding the seashell she had grown so used to the weight of. Just like she was used to weight in her chest.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this."

Yuki jumped turning to see Y standing at the corner, her hand gently resting on the wall. She was smiling at Yuki though, so she supposed it was a pleasant surprise. Y walked over and sat down beside where Yuki stood.

"Y," Yuki said. "Long time no see."

"Hasn't been that long. Just since that showdown in Radiant Gardens," Y said, chuckling slightly to herself as she kicked her feet lightly. Yuki tried her best not to look at Y like she was a child. Y had seen far more than Yuki ever had. But she always retained such a child-like innocence.

"Yeah, I guess. Seems longer," Yuki said, looking back to the town.

"Everything feels longer. God, it seems like it's been years since we were all together," Y said. She chuckled again, humming under her breath. It sounded like a sad tune, but she kept her smile.

"And it's only been a few months. Maybe," Yuki said. She wasn't even sure how long had passed. Had it been months? Or only a few weeks? She hadn't really been able to keep track, and it was hard when time didn't run the same in every world. Time was hard to tell in their lives.

"Yeah," Y said. She gazed thoughtfully out over the town, kicking her feet again. She was in silent thought for a moment. "Oh, that reminds me," she said searching in her pocket.

"What?" Yuki asked, looking at Y curiously. Y pulled a picture from her pocket and looked at it with a soft smile.

"I wanted to give you this," Y said. She held the picture out to Yuki. She tentatively took it. She gasped as she looked at the picture. It was her and Roxas. They were sitting beside each other on the clock tower, laughing about something. "I made it, from the data in the digital Twilight Town. I thought you might want it."

"Thanks," Yuki said, smiling at the picture. "Why did you make this?"

"Oh, uh, this is going to sound weird," Y said, chuckling and rubbing her neck. She looked away with her face flushed, and Yuki couldn't understand why. "But I always just kinda thought of you two together. Where one was, the other would be. You two, you had a sort of bond between your hearts."

"I thought we didn't have hearts," Yuki said quickly looking away, her face flushing a bright red.

"I think at this point we all know that's a load of crap," Y said with a chuckle as she watched Yuki look away. She remembered the same reaction many and many years ago. Yuki chuckled softly.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"I have to go," Y announced as she stood up. "DiZ has a crazy plan, and I'm not letting him do it alone." Yuki frowned, her eyes narrowing as she stared towards the forest. Her grip on the picture Y had made tightened.

"Really now?" Yuki asked.

"Trust me, I don't like the guy," Y said, she chuckled again. "But, I'm starting to get him. And man is he a genius. And if he thinks he can stop Xemnas, I'm all for it." Her eyes glazed over as she looked into the distance. And for an instant, Yuki was convinced she was older than her. Ages older.

"Be careful," Yuki said. "We'll meet you there."

"We?" Y asked in confusion.

"Yeah, Sora and X aren't far behind," Yuki answered. Y smiled brightly.

"Well, then we have no worries, do we?"

Y left without another word. Yuki staid where she stood looking at the picture in her hands. It was a shame it was the last time she would see him for a long time. Only a simple picture left to remember him by. She supposed it was better than only a seashell.

Yuki left the clock tower shortly after. Without much thought, she went to the mansion out in the forest. It was the only pathway to the other Twilight Town left, though she guessed it would be easy enough to open a new path in.

At the gates she found Sora and his friends already there, helping the group of three that lived in the town. X glanced up from where he was crouched beside Olette. He gave Yuki a slight nod when their eyes met.

"What happened?" Sora asked as he helped Hayner to his feet.

"We came here looking for Kairi. Then those white things attacked us," Hayner explained. He had a few bruises but looked fairly unscratched for having fought with a few dusks unarmed.

"You gotta be careful!" Donald said.

"Yeah, you guys didn't have to go and do that," Sora said.

"Of course we did. Kairi's our friend, too, ya know," Hayner said, punching the ground and using that force to push himself up.

"You're right," Sora said standing as all the group managed to get to their feet. "You know, I never thought of it like that before."

"Word is, this mansion gets a lot of really strange visitors," Hayner explained looking at the mansion in front of them.

"We thought this place might be the gateway to some kind of alternate Twilight Town," Olette explained, following Hayner closer to the mansion. Yuki tilted her head to the side curiously. How had they realized there was another Twilight Town?

"What do you mean, alternate Twilight Town?" Sora asked.

"Hey, Goofy, do you think we could see that crystal of yours?" Pence asked. Goofy nodded taking out the orange munny pouch and the blue crystal inside it. He held up the small blue orb for the group to see.

"I made that pouch myself, and I still have it. So there shouldn't be two of them here," Olette explained, holding out an identical pouch. Hayner held up a trophy, four different crystals glittering at various points.

"And this is the trophy Seifer gave you. You left it behind, remember?" Hayner said. Sora nodded.

"It's the only one of its kind. Same for the crystals-red, blue, yellow, green- only one of each color. But you've got your own!" Pence pointed out.

"So where'd you get it?" Hayner asked, turning to Sora. Sora crossed his arms, tapping his chin.

"The pouch is from the King. When he gave us munny for the train ride, he gave us the crystal too," Goofy answered. He tucked the crystal back in the pouch and slipped it into his pocket.

"But then, where did the king get it?" Pence asked.

"See? There's gotta be another town out there like this one. That would explain how the King got that pouch and crystal. Everything makes sense," Hayner said crossing his arms. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all looked at each other, confusion written across their faces.

"It...does?" Sora asked looking back at Hayner.

"They're not wrong," Yuki said. The entire group jumped turning to look at her quickly. She held up her hands quickly. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"So there is another Twilight Town," Hayner said with narrowed eyes. Yuki nodded.

"That other town must be where whatever's missing from here went!" Pence said excitedly. Yuki bit her lip. They weren't even close with that. She didn't think they were that connected. The other Twilight Town was just a mirror image and a cage.

"Like Kairi," Olette said.

"I get it!" Sora said with a nod.

A group of Dusks appeared around them, hissing and swaying as they always did. Before Yuki could even move the Dusks were cut down by Mickey, appearing rather suddenly.

"Watch out!" Mickey warned.

Yuki drew her keyblades and joined in the fray, doing her best to keep the three Twilight Town natives out of the way. They weren't prepared for that sort of fight. Though they had apparently done well enough before. With such a large group it didn't take very long for them to defeat all the Nobodies.

"I got somethin' to tell ya," Mickey said as the battle came to an end. "I found out where Ansem is- Ansem the wise! The real Ansem! He snuck into Organization XIII's stronghold."

"And we've figured out where Kairi is! I'm pretty sure we're right," Sora said, nodding to himself. Yuki had always noticed he did that, like confirming it to himself.

"But why'd you all come here?" Mickey asked.

"Someone gave us a clue," Sora answered Mickey frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Who?" Mickey asked.

"Well, Your Majesty, Sora thinks it mighta been Riku," Goofy said, looking at Sora cautiously. Yuki was sure Sora was right. Riku had mentioned leading Sora the right way.

"It's just a feeling I had," Sora explained.

"Well, if that's what ya think, then it's probably right," Mickey said, not looking Sora in the eye. Yuki held in her sigh. He couldn't make it much more obvious he knew something.

"You mean Riku's ok!" Sora said excitedly.

"If that's what ya think," Mickey said, still looking away. This time Yuki did sigh, putting a hand on her hip. Sora crossed his arms.

"I've waited long enough, Your Majesty! Tell me what you know!" he demanded.

"It's not for me to say," Mickey said firmly.

"But Your Majesty! Why?" Sora asked.

"I don't wanna break my promise," Mickey explained.

"You made a promise to Riku!? So he's ok! I can see him again!" Sora said excitedly jumping up. Mickey covered his mouth quickly, realizing his mistake too late.

"Sora, you should have already known that. I told I've seen Riku," Yuki pointed out calmly. Sora chuckled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Huh? Who's Riku?" Hayner asked in confusion.

"He's my best friend," Sora explained.

"That's it!" Pence said as if lining up all of the pieces.

"Your Majesty? You got the pouch with the crystal from Riku, didn't you? And you promised not to tell, right?" Olette asked, crouching so she was eye level with the king. Mickey looked away from her nervously.

"Gosh guys," Mickey said.

"That's enough!" Donald shouted, moving the attention off of Mickey.

"Yeah. Let's go!" Sora said turning to face the mansion. "Kairi! Riku! We're on our way!"

The mansion foyer was exactly as Yuki remembered it. And she still wasn't a fan of it. She glanced around, her eyes landing where DiZ had stood when she had last spoken to him. Her expression soured. He was the reason all of this chaos had started.

"There's gotta be a computer somewhere," Mickey said, pulling Yuki from her thoughts.

"A computer," Pence said. "Do you think it's connected to that other Twilight Town?"

"It might be. And there should be a way into the Realm of Darkness there," Mickey explained calmly.

"There will be, on both counts," Yuki said without thinking. She froze when she felt everyone's eyes land on her. She glanced around at everyone slowly.

"Riku told you that, didn't he!?" Sora asked excitedly. Yuki sighed heavily.

"Sora," she began.

"Aha! I knew it!" he said happily, not letting her get further. Riku hadn't told her that. She had been with Axel when he had created the entrance into the digital Twilight Town.

"Sora, leave her be," X said calmly. Yuki shot him a grateful look as he turned and headed up a set of stairs. "Come on, I know where the computer is."

X lead them to the library and did something that Yuki didn't catch. Whatever he did caused the floor to vanish, leaving a clear path to what was probably the basement. They found the multi-screened computer up and running. It looked they only needed to access it.

"There!" Mickey said.

"X found it!" Sora said happily.

"I've already been here," X said calmly leaning on a wall. "Y worked in this room a lot."

"How does it work?" Donald asked turning to look at X. He shrugged.

"I have no idea."

"I can handle it," pence announced sitting down in the chair. He began typing, muttering to himself as he worked. "Ok... Here we go... Ah!"

"What's wrong?" Hayner asked, leaning over the back of Pence's chair.

"I can't go any further without a password," Pence explained looking over his shoulder at the group. They all frowned looking down to the ground.

"Do ya have any idea what the password might be?" Mickey asked, looking to the group that Sora traveled with.

"Well, we only got this photo," Goofy said, holding up the picture in question.

"And the salty-sweet ice cream bar!" Donald added.

"Yeah, the one X ate," Sora agreed, glancing to X. X only shrugged again.

"It was in the box right next to the photo," Goofy explained.

"Hey, that's it! Ansem the Wise loved ice cream!" Mickey said, jumping up.

"Ok, what's the name of the flavor?" Pence asked turning back to the computer, ready to type whatever they said.

"Sea-salt," Yuki supplied. X nodded in silent agreement. Pence nodded as he typed it in.

"It worked!" He said happily. It was followed shortly by another groan. "Ah, we need another password. A backup or something." He looked at them hopefully again.

"Any clue?" X asked looking at the group.

Everyone fell silent. Yuki frowned searching her pockets for anything that would give her an idea. She pulled out the picture Y had just given her, flipping it over to look at the back. She was surprised to see words written on the back in Y's neat handwriting.

"An unbreakable connection," Yuki whispered.

"What?" X asked, his eyes rather wide.

"Nothing, Y wrote it on the back of this picture," Yuki said, showing him the picture before slipping it back in her pocket. She didn't want Sora to catch sight of it.

"Wayfinder," X said, turning to Pence. "The password is Wayfinder." Pence nodded and typed it in.

"I'm in!" He announced. He did a few things and the machine beside them buzzed to life. Yuki wasn't sure what he was doing, but he seemed to have it all figured out. Somehow.

"How'd you know that?" Sora asked.

"Y worked on this computer all the time. Wayfinders are kinda her thing," X explained with a grin. Sora nodded turning to the machine.

"Let's go!" Sora said.

"We'll be here to hold down the fort," Hayner said.

"Say hi to Kairi!" Olette added.

"You bet!" Sora said with a nod.

Using the machine they found themselves in what looked like the same room. The walls and floors looked the same. Even the machine they had come through looked identical.

"Are we back in the same place?" Sora asked.

"Look!" Donald said, pointing toward the computer. It was smashed up, looking like someone had beat it with a blunt weapon. Yuki walked to the computer placing her hand on the computer. She could only guess it was Roxas's doing.

"This is the other Twilight Town. Roxas's Twilight Town," Sora said quietly. Yuki's head snapped toward Sora with his words. She hadn't been expecting that out of him.

"There's gotta be an entrance into the dark realm somewhere. Let's go," Mickey said. He led the way into the next hall where they were faced with a swirling portal in the corridor.

"There," Sora said.

"This is it," Mickey said.

Sora was the first to enter the portal. Yuki followed after the main group, X at her side. Inside they were in what looked something like a dark corridor. Colors swirled around them, making it hard to differentiate what any direction was.

"What is this place?" Sora asked.

"This is the inside of a dark corridor," Yuki explained calmly.

"Weird one, but yes," X said, glancing around with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, which way should we go?" Donald asked. Before Yuki could be given the chance to answer Sora stepped forward.

"Riku! Kairi!" he yelled loudly. Yuki flinched and drew her keyblades.

They were suddenly surrounded by Nobodies. It was a group of mostly Dusks, but a few of the more dangerous varieties joined in the fray. For every one they killed, it seemed that two more took its place. They were making no headway.

"It's no use!" Sora cried out. Yuki held back her agreement as she slashed down another two Dusks. If they were Heartless it would have been over much sooner.

"Don't stop moving, or the darkness will overtake you!"

Yuki turned to see a familiar bright red-haired nobody jump in the fight. His chakrams took down an entire line of Dusks at once.

"Get goin'!" Axel ordered.

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Don't ask. Just do it!" Axel said quickly. He was swarmed by Dusks and almost knocked down. In seconds flat Yuki was across the area, throwing the Dusks off of him with her keys. X was beside her, helping Axel up as he stabbed a few stray Dusks.

"You ok?" Yuki asked not looking at him.

"Thanks, Snowy, I'm fine," Axel said with a soft smile. He sighed as he turned to Sora. "I kidnapped Kairi, but she got away from me. After that Saix caught her. He's a member of Organization XIII. Saix. Got it memorized? Now go save her!"

Another Dusk attacked them, this time Sora blocking its hit and sending it flying back.

"Leave us alone!" Sora demanded.

Once again they were surrounded by Nobodies, fighting their way through the masses.

"I think I liked it better when they were on my side," Axel said offhandedly during the battle, his chakrams swinging in his hands.

"I might agree with you for once," X said casually. He wasn't far away, sweat dripping from his brow as he repositioned the grip he had on his daggers.

"Feeling a little regret?" Sora asked playfully.

"Nah, I can handle these punks. Watch this!" Axel said.

He threw himself at the Nobodies, his body being enveloped in fire. A bright flash of light momentarily blinded them, and when they could see again all the Nobodies were gone and Axel was on the ground. Yuki quickly dropped to Axel's side, X beside her.

"Whoa!" Sora said. He paused seeing where they were. He joined Yuki, kneeling beside Axel's slowly fading body. "You're... fading away."

"Well, that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack. You know what I mean? Not that Nobodies actually have beings...right? Anyway, I digress. Go, find Kairi. Oh, almost forgot...Sorry for what I did to her," Axel said. His voice like his body was slowly fading. Yuki felt tears well up in her eyes and her chest tighten up.

"When we find her, you can tell her that yourself," Sora insisted.

"Think I'll pass. My heart just wouldn't be in it, you know? Haven't got one," Axel said. He laughed weakly looking to Yuki and X. Tears were falling down Yuki's cheeks as she looked at him. There was blood like he had burned himself too. X was sickly pale, his eyes fixed on the blotch on Axel's chest.

"Axel, what were you trying to do?" Sora asked.

"I wanted to see Roxas," Axel admitted. "He...was the only one I liked, at least of the Nobodies... He made me feel...like I had a heart. It's kind of... funny... You make me feel... the same..." His eyes watched as tears fell from Yuki's face onto his cloak. Yuki tried her hardest to hide the tear, to hold them back. They didn't have time. But she was still losing everything. First Xion, then Roxas, now Axel, and soon enough Naminé. "Well, look who has a heart now."

"You're going to leave us too," Yuki said, her voice strangled.

"Eh, you'll be fine. Still three strong. Don't cry over a Nobody," Axel said. Yuki shook her head. Her heart hurt like it was being stabbed from all angles. Her eyes turned yellow, focusing on Axel. A gasp escaped her lips.

"The sunset...do you remember it?" Yuki asked.

"Of course," Axel said. Yuki smiled softly, sniffling.

"That's what your heart looks like," Yuki said. Axel stared at her in shock. After a moment his eyes moved over to X.

"You keep an eye on her. You're her Knight, after all," he said. X nodded, tearing his eyes away from the blood and to Yuki beside him.

"I'll watch her. Not that she needs," he said. Axel chuckled, raising his hand to summon a portal.

"Kairi's in the castle dungeon. Now go."

"Axel," Sora said as Axel faded away, returning to nothing.

Yuki let out a sob curling into herself. Her body shook from her ragged breaths. She clenched her fist tightly, focusing on the feeling of her nails digging into her palms. She pushed herself up, breaths still shaky and uneven. Sora rested a hand on her shoulder but she brushed him off. They didn't have time. Se stepped toward the portal, looking at it with hardened eyes.

"This leads to," Sora said, his voice trailing off.

"Aw, come on! Let's get going!" Donald snapped.

Without further word, they stepped into the portal and into the enemies stronghold.


	33. Chapter XXXII

**Chapter XXXII; Into The Fortress**

Entering the World That Never Was, they found themselves in a pitch-black city. Yuki and X stopped looking around with wide eyes. The place was crawling with Heartless, though none were visible at the moment. The group walked through the city, eventually catching sight of the castle and the heart-shaped moon that was the cause of all this chaos.

"Axel said Kairi's in the dungeon," Sora said looking at the castle. A low roll of thunder sounded somewhere in the distance.

"Then we better find a way to get to that castle!" Mickey said.

"Do you guys know the way?" Sora asked turning to the two Heartless. Yuki shook her head.

"Never been here," she said. She glanced over at X.

"I was transported right to the castle the last time I was here. Never set foot in this city," X said with a shrug. He glanced over his shoulder nervously, and Yuki followed his gaze. The Heartless were causing too much trouble.

"We can probably keep the Heartless off our backs though. Can't do much about Nobodies," she said. She flashed her eyes yellow as a warning before looking back at Sora. Whatever was behind them backed away.

Sora took the lead of the group, walking through twists and turns and being the first to attack when a group of Nobodies got in their way.

"Yuki," Sora said after a moment.

"Hm?" Yuki asked, turning to look at him after taking out the last Nobody in that area.

"You knew Axel really well, right?" Sora asked.

"I wouldn't say that. But, he was a friend. One of my best friends," Yuki said. She looked down at the ground, a pain starting in her chest. She didn't want to admit Axel was gone.

"So, those things he said. About you having a heart, and X, as," Sora trailed off and Yuki got the sense he didn't really want an answer.

"My knight?" Yuki asked softly. Sora nodded. "Why is that anyways?" Yuki asked looking over at X. He only shrugged.

"Not a clue, just what I am. Someone has to watch the Queen," he said calmly.

"Queen of what?" Sora asked in confusion.

"Heartless," Yuki answered. Sora stared at her with his mouth hanging open. Yuki flushed red and looked away from him with a frown. "Please don't stare like that. I already feel bad enough."

"But you, you're just like us!" Sora said. Yuki sighed and looked back at him. He still looked shocked. She supposed it wasn't something he had considered. One of his friends lacking a heart.

"Sora, I know you might not have really seen it yet, but in the end, elites like us are just like you guys. X, Y, me, and the ten other elite Heartless left, we aren't so different from people," she said. It felt strange to admit that. She had tried so hard in her mind to separate herself from the others. But they weren't. The only difference was what they had left.

"Does Riku know?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, he knows," Yuki confirmed. "Kairi doesn't, I'll have to tell her when we get her back home."

While they had been walking they had made their way to a skyscraper that marked the middle of the city. Sora was a few steps ahead of the group, lost in thought. Before any of the others could catch up to him, a group of samurai Nobodies cut them off.

"Sora!" Donald yelled. Sora turned around and drew his keyblade, glaring at the Nobodies.

"Donald! Goofy! X! Yuki!"

As soon as the words left his mouth he vanished into thin air. The group remaining was forced to take out the Nobodies, which wasn't much of a challenge. After the Nobodies were gone the group all stood in confusion. Yuki tried not to flinch. There were hearts locked in a battle. She could feel it. And looking over at X, she suspected he could too.

"Roxas," Yuki whispered as she looked up to the sky.

Moments later Sora reappeared like nothing had happened. He stood not far from them, looking down at the ground.

"You make a good other," Sora said. Yuki could feel her entire body tense.

"Are you ok?" Donald asked.

"What, just happened?" Sora asked. He looked up and at the group, his eyes searching them for some kind of explanation. Yuki looked at X. He was frowning, his arms crossed.

"Gawrsh, I dunno. You just disappeared. Then we had to fight some Nobodies," Goofy explained.

"Your heart was at war, we could feel it," Yuki said softly. She hoped she was wrong. If Sora was here after the fight, then it would mean. She scolded herself mentally. She couldn't go thinking like that.

"He said, he defeated Riku," Sora said. Yuki felt her heart sink.

"Who said that?" Donald asked.

"That guy. In the black coat," Sora said, looking at the group. Yuki pressed her lips into a thin line.

"But nobody could defeat Riku," Donald said in confusion. Yuki doubted that. Riku was tough, but not unbeatable.

"Y-Yeah, you're right," Sora said.

"A black coat means Organization XIII. He musta been tryin' to trick ya," Goofy suggested.

"Yeah, that must be why we didn't see him!" Donald added.

"Huh?" Sora asked in confusion.

"You must be tired, Sora," Donald said, crossing his arms.

"C'mon, let's just find a way to get into that castle!" Goofy said, taking the lead and heading toward the castle. Taking a moment to glance around, Yuki realized they had lost the King somewhere along the way.

They reached the edge of a cliff. The castle was in front of them, floating in mid-air with no clear path to it. Mickey was waiting for them, looking up at the castle with a frown.

"Dead end?" Sora asked as they stopped beside the castle.

"There's gotta be a path somewhere," Mickey said, looking around desperately. Sora looked at the castle for a moment before his keyblade glowed. He pointed it toward the castle forming a new path.

"Kairi," Sora said. "We're almost there."

They had hardly entered the castle when Sora tried to get ahead of them, looking around frantically.

"Kairi! Where are you?" he yelled. Mickey jumped in front of him, holding out his arm.

"Shhhh! Remember where we are! This is their stronghold!" Mickey warned. Just those words were enough to cause Yuki's stomach to tighten into knots. They were really about to do this.

"Which probably means they already know we're here," X said. The tension Yuki felt only grew. X was right of course. There was no way they couldn't know. Mickey hesitated for a moment then took off running. Yuki had no idea where he was going, but she didn't want to risk chasing after him. There was no time.

"Wait! Your Majesty!" Donald yelled.

"Be careful! I think we got company!" Goofy said, summoning his shield. He wasn't wrong, as the others summoned their weapons to their hands they were surrounded by Nobodies. For the most part, it was only Dusks. But it was still proving to be a challenge to make their way through the castle.

Y flipped her hair over her shoulder, panting heavily. She and Riku had managed to clear the path. Now they just had to find Naminé in the chaos that was overtaking this world. Y wondered if Xehanort had planned for this, everyone attacking the base at once. If he did it worried her. He would never allow that unless he had another plan.

"Shouldn't you be with DiZ?" Riku asked from where he stood a few feet away.

"It's his revenge. He has it covered," Y said simply. She wasn't going to get involved in that. Not if she could avoid it. "Anyway, helping you doesn't seem like a bad option," she added. Riku nodded slowly, seeming surprised by her simple answer. Y didn't think much on it as they made their way through the castle.

They located Naminé who just as planned had freed Kairi from her cage in the lower levels of the castle. Unfortunately not according to plan, Saix was in front of them, two Berserkers on either side of him like some kind of evil henchmen.

Y and Riku didn't need to exchange words. Y took out one of the Berserkers while Riku took out the other one. Saix turned to face them with his usual impassive face. Y felt her heart clench. What had happened to the Isa she had known?

"You," Saix said ignoring Y entirely. His yellow eyes were focused on Riku. "Didn't Roxas take care of you?"

"You can take it from here, Riku, Y," Naminé said, stepping back from Kairi and seeming to vanish into thin air.

"Riku!?" Kairi said in shock.

Riku ignored Kairi engaging Saix in a fight. Saix didn't stay long, fleeing through a dark corridor moments after the fight had begun. Riku was about to step through the dark corridor but stopped as Kairi grabbed onto his wrist.

"Wait! Riku...you're really here," Kairi said. She took off Riku's hood, having to reach up quite a bit to do so. She didn't seem surprised to see someone who didn't look anything like Riku. "What happened?" she asked.

"I think, we don't have enough time for that story. And since Sora is going to have to hear it too, let's save Riku the trouble of explaining more than once and just go find Sora and his friends," Y said, as she stepped forward. Kairi looked over at her with her head tilted to the side. She was looking at Y with a hint of recognition, but Y was certain she couldn't place it.

"And who are you?" Kairi asked.

"I'm Y. Nice to meet you again," Y said giving a bright smile.

"Again?" Kairi asked.

"Yup, now, let's get going," Y said, not taking the time to explain.

Yuki looked around the castle as they ran through. They had gotten lost some time ago. They had no idea where they were going, and even X couldn't tell them. All they knew was they were going up. Yuki figured that was probably their best bet anyway. But the closer they got to the top, the stronger the pressure from the heart-shaped moon was.

"Sora. You've done well."

They all froze turning quickly to find Saix was standing on a ledge above them. He looked down at them with a sort of disdain, anger filling his gaze.

"Where's Kairi?" Sora yelled.

"Who knows? I expect she's catching up with a friend from the darkness," Saix said calmly. Yuki frowned. Riku had found Kairi then. Before Sora had.

"What do you mean!?" Sora asked.

"She doesn't need you anymore," Saix said.

"I'm supposed to believe that?" Sora asked. Yuki was glad for his stubbornness. It made things easier for the good guys, and harder for the bad guys to shake his beliefs.

"Well, you don't have to. But you can believe this. Organization XIII has no further use for you, or any other wielder. Just look there," Saix said. He pointed upward to the moon above them. Yuki's breath caught once again. Power pulsed from the moon. It was almost complete. "Our Kingdom Hearts. Thanks to you, we've collected countless hearts. Can you hear their euphoria? Now, all they need is one more helping from the keybearers!"

He summoned a mass of Heartless and Yuki didn't have to try to control them to know she had no power over them. Saix was right, though should wouldn't call it euphoria. More mad with power or something along those lines.

"X, Yuki!" Sora cried, blocking the Heartless's attacks trying not to give in to Saix's goal.

"We can't do anything!" X snapped, killing a few of the Heartless in front of him. His eyes were glowing yellow as if he was trying to hold them all back. Yuki supposed her own eyes were glowing similarly.

"We're too close to the Realm of Darkness. Add that to Kingdom Hearts, there's no way they'd take an order that told them to stop," Yuki said, her last word a command. It held for only a moment before the Heartless began to move again. Just as she thought.

"What's the point of being a high ranking Heartless if they can just ignore you?" Sora asked.

"I ask that a lot," Yuki replied as she swung her keys, sending the Heartless flying back from her.

"We gotta fight!" Donald said.

"But- Kingdom Hearts!" Sora yelled.

"Sora!"

Yuki froze turning to see Kairi up on the ledge above them. Y wasn't far back from her, seeming to be fighting off just as many Heartless as they were. Yuki couldn't see him, but she assumed Riku wasn't far away.

"Sora! It's really you!" Kairi yelled.

"Kairi!" Sora said happily, just before he was overtaken by a swarm of Heartless.

"You leave Sora alone!" Kairi yelled before jumping over the railing and rushing toward Sora. It wasn't long until she was similarly overtaken by Heartless. "Sora-!"

In a flash of light, Riku and Y were in front of her. Y was holding out a keyblade to her, one made of flowers so it seemed. It had been a pain to get a hold of another keyblade, but she had managed after a while. It was Y's responsibility to help Kairi anyway.

"Take it," Riku said.

"You're gonna need it," Y added. Kairi took the keyblade from her and looked at it for a moment.

"This time, I'll fight. You know Sora's completely hopeless without us! C'mon, Riku!" Kairi said. She flashed a smile before running into the fray. She clearly had no idea what she was doing, but Y gave her an A for effort. She shook her head before following after the redhead.

Below them, Sora was fighting off the remaining Heartless.

"Get off!" Sora yelled. He looked up long enough to see Kairi fight with Y and Riku, confusion quickly enveloping his face. "What's going on!?"

Before they could make a move toward Kairi, several crystal shots landed around them, killing the remainder of the Heartless. Yuki tightened her grip on her keyblades.

"Have you been a good boy?" A teasing voice asked. Yuki heard X groan somewhere behind her.

"Show yourself!" Sora yelled.

One of the Organization appeared, standing over the rest of them. He had long dark hair, streaked with silver and an eye patch over one of his eyes. Scars traced his face and his remaining eye was bright yellow. Yuki shuddered just being near him. Something was off about him. Something wasn't right.

"Oh, it sounds like you haven't. Sora! Roxas!" the man yelled. Yuki flinched back from the second name.

"Roxas? Hey, did he just call me Roxas?" Sora asked looking to his companions in confusion. Donald nodded.

"You've really put Organization XIII in a pickle. I guess that must be why the Kayblade chose you. But man, did it pick a dud this time. You don't look like you're half the hero the others were," the man said. Yuki frowned in confusion, glancing at the group with her. What other ones. She was surprised to see X glaring at him, his eyes still glowing bright yellow.

"Are you done rambling?" Sora asked.

"Rambling? As if! All I'm trying to tell you, traitor, is that your time is up!" the man yelled. He suddenly disappeared and reappeared on the same field. The group all jumped toward him but were surprised to find he was gone by the time they reached him.

Yuki hissed in pain as she felt an arrow graze her side. She turned to find the man across the field again. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

"Xigbar commands the Sniper Nobodies," X said. "He can teleport just like them. Spread out and hit him if he gets near you."

It was a hard fight, but X's directions had helped. It was harder for Xigbar to find a safe place to teleport to with the group spread out. It wasn't long until Sora delivered the final blow.

"I lost? Me?" Xigbar said as he stumbled back, falling to his knees.

"Why did you call me Roxas?" Sora demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Xigbar said with a snicker, looking at the two Heartless as he faded away.

"Hey! Hold on!" Sora objected, but it was too late.

"Sora! It's Kairi!" Donald said. Sora quickly forgot about Xigbar's strange actions.

"Kairi, we're on our way!"

* * *

_Guest: Yeah! I have heard that one, and I can definitely see it making an appearance at some point in the story. It has a lot of good potential for a few different scenarios. _


	34. Chapter XXXIII

**Chapter XXXIII; Together Again**

Sora led the way to where Kairi was, running as quickly as he could. As they met the group Y broke away from Riku and Kairi. She ran up to X, hugging him tightly which seemed to surprise Sora, but he pushed it out of his mind quickly.

"Kairi, you were great!" Donald said.

"Oh?" Kairi said. She flipped her hair over her shoulder looking away bashfully. Sora walked up to Kairi, a look of disbelief on his face. Yuki sighed, pacing over to where Riku was standing.

"You are different, Kairi, but I'm just glad you're here!" Sora said happily.

"You and Riku never came home, so I came looking for you," Kairi said. Sora looked away from her.

"I'm sorry," Sora said.

Kairi rushed up to him and hugged him tightly. "This is real," she whispered in his shoulder. Sora was tense for a moment, but then hugged her in return.

Riku opened a dark corridor and went to go through it. Yuki caught hold of his wrist just as Sora called out to him.

"Wait, Ansem! I mean, Xehanort's Heartless," Sora said. Riku stopped, glancing at Yuki then to Sora. "I never thought for a second that I'd ever see you again. Just thinking about all the things you did make me really mad. But, but you saved Kairi, right? I have to be grateful for that. Thanks."

Riku gave a nod and turned back to the dark corridor. Yuki tightened her grip on his wrist.

"Riku, don't go!" Kairi said, taking a step toward him.

"Huh?" Donald and Goofy asked. X frowned looking aver at Y who shrugged.

"Kairi, what did you just say?" Sora asked in confusion.

"Riku," Kairi repeated.

"I'm no one- just a castaway from the darkness," Riku said, he struggled to pull free from Yuki's grip, but she didn't let go. She narrowed her eyes at Riku in a glare.

"Sora, come here," Yuki said calmly. She held her hand out to Sora but didn't look toward him.

"Say something to him," Kairi said.

Sora slowly walked over to Yuki, putting his hand in hers. She placed his hand on Rikus and held them together. She held out her other hand to Kairi, taking her hand and connecting their hands.

"Close your eyes. You'll see it," Yuki said calmly. She didn't know how she knew this would work. But she decided following her instincts would be the best bet. Heartless were said to have good instincts about the world. Sora closed his eyes and gasped.

"Riku. It's Riku. Riku's here," Sora said. He fell to his knees, eyes filling with tears as they opened and he looked up at Riku. "I looked for you!"

"C'mon, Sora. You've got to pull it together," Riku said. He didn't try to pull his hand from Soras as Yuki and Kairi both stepped back.

"I looked everywhere for you!" Sora said.

"I didn't want you to find me," Riku said simply.

"But it was him that was helpin' us, wasn't it?" Goofy asked.

"Huh?" Donald asked in confusion.

"Those clues we kept finding. That musta been Riku," Goofy explained.

"I was starting to worry you guys weren't ever gonna catch on. Sora never did pick the brightest friends," Riku said with a chuckle. Yuki blinked in confusion. Was Riku insulting himself as Sora's best friend?

"What do you mean by that!?" Donald asked.

"I take offense to that," X said from where he stood beside Y. Yuki was glad the two of them were remaining as silent as they were. X usually would have said something sarcastic by now.

"Why didn't you let me know you were ok?" Sora asked.

"I told you. I didn't want to be found. Not like this," Riku said looking down at himself. "I couldn't. I fought Ansem. With Xehanort's Heartless- when it invaded my heart, and I won. But to use the power of darkness, I had to become Ansem myself." As he explained Sora got his feet again.

"Does that mean, you can't change back?" Kairi asked.

"This battle isn't over. And until it is, I still need the power of darkness," Riku said.

"Then, let's finish it. You're still Riku, no matter what!" Sora said firmly. They all looked at each other nodded. They weren't going to let things stay as they were. Kairi let out a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Yuki asked.

"This is the first time we've all been together since the islands," Kairi said. Yuki took in a sharp breath looking at the other two. This really was their first true reunion. And somehow, it didn't feel as heavy as she thought it would. It felt, normal.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Sora said with his own chuckle.

"Well, let's finish this so it's not the last time," Yuki said. Sora nodded and turned to Donald and Goofy.

"So how 'bout it: Think we can handle one last rumble together? The King's waiting!" he said.

"Yeah! Let's get going!" Donald said as Goofy nodded.

Yuki turned to X and Y. Y was leaning on X's shoulder. Yuki was surprised to see X's eyes still glowing yellow.

"We're still three strong," Yuki said. She watched Y's face fall as she realized what that meant. "You two willing to finish this with me?" she asked.

"Wherever you lead, Your Majesty," X said, bowing forward with a smirk. Y rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him.

"We're with you," she said.

Riku took the lead this time. Leading them through the castle they found themselves in a room that looked filled with tombstones. Most were broken. Save two, that were marked with familiar symbols. Weapons Yuki had seen before. As she approached one of the broken ones, she felt tears well up in her eyes. The Flurry of the Dancing Flames. Axel.

"One for each member?" Yuki asked, looking over to the others as she wiped away her tears.

"Looks like. Three left," X said looking at another tombstone not far away.

"Ten, seven, and one," Y listed off.

"Where do we go first?" Sora asked. He was still at the foot of the room, near the lowest numbers.

"How did they pick numbers?" Kairi asked nervously.

"If it's anything like Organization XIV, they just base it off when they join. Saix was the second in command, right?" Yuki asked looking to X and Y. X nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Luxord is probably our best first bet," Y said as she stood near the tombstone that wasn't broken.

"We could try splitting into two groups. Take two out at once, saves us time. Which we don't have much of," X said. He was over by the other unbroken tombstone.

"X has a point," Riku said. Yuki nodded in agreement.

"Me, Y, Riku, and Kairi can go after Luxord," Yuki said. "That leaves Sora and his usual crew to take out Saix."

"Are you sure?" Sora asked nervously.

"Don't worry, we can all handle ourselves," Yuki said. "Right Riku?"

"Yeah, she's right. We don't have the time to stay together. And with a group this large we're more likely to get in each other's way than anything else," Riku agreed. Sora nodded slowly. Kairi reached out to him and gently placed a hand on his arm.

"We'll meet up after, ok?" she said. Sora nodded.

"Right, be safe you guys," he said. Yuki smiled and nodded.

Luxord's hideout was open to the sky, showing a beam that was connecting to the moon above them.

"What's that?" Kairi asked, her head tilting to the side as she stepped forward. Her hands were close to her chest.

"It's the King and DiZ- I mean, Ansem the Wise. They must be higher up. We better hurry," Riku said. Yuki frowned. That's who DiZ really was. Explained a lot.

The group nodded in agreement. They didn't get very far into the room when Luxord appeared between Yuki and the rest of the group. She jumped back in shock. Luxord snapped his fingers and a wall of cards surrounded the other three. They spun around them and when the slipped away in a line, they were gone.

"I'd rather we just skip the formalities. The first to run out of time is the loser," Luxord said as Yuki narrowed her eyes into a glare. She wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she wasn't going to take too long thinking on it if time was the object.

Yuki shot forward with her keys. Luxord used his cards as a shield, blocking her easily. She threw herself over the cards and brought her keys down on Luxord throwing him back. He smirked before surrounding himself in the cards. As the cards dispersed.

"Come on," Yuki groaned looking at all the cards. She slashed at a group of them, knocking Luxord out of one of them.

The battle became much of the same. A few times Yuki herself was turned into a card or a die occasionally.

"You play the game quite well," Luxord said, panting as he stood. Yuki shrugged and cut him down again.

"Aryum taught me a few tricks," Yuki said looking over her shoulder as Luxord faded. He seemed to chuckle.

"Course she did," he muttered. Yuki watched as he faded, her chest feeling tight. She looked up to the sky as the others returned from being trapped inside the cards. She closed her eyes, sending out a silent thought. Let him have peace.

"You ok?" Kairi asked, putting a hand on Yuki's shoulder.

"Yeah," Yuki said, looking back down with a smile. "Let's go meet up with the others. They can't be taking much longer than us."

"Update, I do not like being stuck in a card," Y announced. Yuki chuckled a little and patted her shoulder.

"No one does."

They entered the room to see a wall of windows with a clear view of the moon. A beam of light was connecting to it from somewhere else in the castle. Whatever it was, X assumed it wasn't really a problem for them. Anything that stopped her.

Saix stood in front of the window. He turned to face them slowly. His face remained impassive as he looked over the small group. At least smaller than he had expected.

"Only you could have made it this far in one piece, Roxas," Saix said. He held out his hand, summoning his claymore to him.

"That's getting really old!" Sora snapped. Donald, Goofy, and X all stepped in front of Sora weapons raised and ready.

"Yeah!" Donald agreed.

"He's Sora," X stated firmly. Saix narrowed his eyes as the claymore behind him.

"Different name, same fate," he said. He swung his claymore forward, pushing them back just from the sheer force. They planted their feet and glared at Saix, preparing for a battle. "Do you feel it, the moon's power? Moon, shine down!"

The fight was chaos from the beginning. Saix seemed untouchable in his rage. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were thrown about the area, landing with loud thumps against the walls and floor. X was narrowly missing the same fate, the spikes across Saix's blade catching his arms and legs and even a few places on his face. He could feel the blood trickling down his face.

X glanced over and saw Sora stumbling to his feet, their eyes meeting. Donald and Goofy were unconscious and would be for the time until X could get around to healing them. X glanced at Saix and gave a heavy sigh. Might as well distract him.

X darted at Saix easily knocked aside by the claymore. He landed on the ground with a hard thud, his daggers falling out of his hands. He rolled himself onto his back, trying to make the best decision of where to move. He was met with the sight of Saix bringing his claymore down on him much to quick to move.

X put up his hands without thinking, his eyes closing as he braced for impact. He couldn't catch it, there was no way.

The clang of metal on metal echoed as X felt his arms nearly give out from the force suddenly placed on them. X opened his eyes and felt the color drain from his face.

In his hands was a dark keyblade, a swirling handle made mostly from a cool black metal. The teeth of the key looked like a crescent moon with three spikes in the center. A red gem was in the center of the teeth.

Saix looked as surprised as X, staring at the key in his hands.

Saix suddenly stumbled back, beginning to fade away. Sora stood beside him, eyes wide as he looked down at X. X flicked his wrist banishing the keyblade and retrieving his daggers. His hand shook as he picked up the familiar weapons, dropping them a few times before he managed to succeed.

"A heart, if I had a heart," Saix said, drawing X's attention. He dropped his claymore and looked up at the moon. "Why, Kingdom Hearts? Where is my heart?"

X snorted as he watched Saix fade away. He put his faith in the wrong place.

The entire group met again after their battles. Sora's group looked worse for the wear, even X staring blankly past everyone. Sora was at the head of his group arms crossed in annoyance.

"I don't get it. Why's everybody been calling me Roxas? Even Yuki's done it!" Sora complained. Yuki looked away, her face flushing. She had hoped Sora would never ask about that. But it seemed the Nobodies had other plans,

"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Roxas," Yuki muttered. Sora looked at her in question.

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Because, Sora. Roxas is your Nobody," Riku said.

A silence fell in the group. Yuki couldn't bring herself to look anywhere but the floor.

"My, Nobody? But that's crazy, I never turned into a Heart-" Sora trailed off, seeming to remember something. He looked down. "Oh, right."

"It was when you came to rescue me, remember?" Kairi said softly. Sora nodded.

"Xemnas was the one who found Roxas. He could use the keyblade because he was your Nobody. That's why Xemnas brought him into the Organization- But Roxas betrayed them. After that, I fought him because I thought it would help you wake up. I lost, but the next time we met I made sure I was the stronger one. Maybe I didn't need to fight him after all. I think he left the Organization because, he really wanted to meet you," Riku explained. Yuki took a deep breath and stepped forward. Her feet felt like lead, and she wasn't she'd even be able to say what she wanted to.

"He did," she said softly. Sora turned and looked at her.

"Yuki," he said.

"It wasn't the only reason. But it was one of them," Yuki explained. She looked up slowly, meeting Sora's eyes. As always she was reminded of Roxas. "We started talking about you, the closer it got to the end."

"You, you knew him?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. He was one of my best friends," Yuki admitted. Y stepped forward and placed a hand on Yuki's arm softly.

"One of our best friends," she corrected.

"Roxas he was, he was the first one we lost. And the first one we made friends with," Yuki explained. It was hard to breathe suddenly. She wasn't sure how much longer she could talk about it.

"That's why you've had such a hard time being near me," Sora said. Yuki smiled softly.

"So you noticed," she said softly. "Yeah, I know you're not him, but, maybe that's why it was so hard at first."

"I wish I could have met him, too," Sora said. Yuki chuckled and tapped Sora's chest where his heart would be. Sora looked at her in silent shock before she turned away. Y stayed beside her, giving her a quick hug.

"All right. Let's go," Riku announced.

They didn't have much more time.


	35. Chapter XXXIV

**Chapter XXXIV; The World's End**

Finding DiZ and Mickey was easier than Yuki thought it should have been. Riku seemed to know where they were going. And she let him lead. Her head was throbbing, the pain increasing as they went farther and farther up the castle. There was a strange sound in the air, almost like a scream. But Yuki seemed to be the only one who could hear it. At least no one else was stumbling as they ran.

"Your Majesty!" Sora yelled, much too loudly. Mickey and DiZ both turned to look at them. DiZ looked sadly at the group.

"Sora, the rest is up to you," DiZ said. "And Roxas- I doubt you can hear me- but, I am sorry." He turned away again, holding tightly to the machine that was creating the beam they had noticed earlier.

"Ansem!" Mickey said, reaching out towards his old friend.

"My heart is telling me what I must do. Please allow me to do what it says!" DiZ said, not bothering to look at Mickey.

"No!" Mickey said. Yuki flinched back from the noise as Riku grabbed onto Mickey's arm. "Riku!"

"His hearts decided. We can't change that," Riku said simply. He looked at DiZ calmly. Yuki wasn't sure what everyone was waiting for, but she knew it wasn't good. Y rocked on her feet nervously, X beside her, watching her carefully.

The sound of a dark corridor opening made Yuki lookup. Floating above them was Xemnas. He looked down on them coldly, his eyes finding DiZ and narrowing as a smirk formed across his face.

"I was wondering who would dare interfere with my Kingdom Hearts. And look- here you all are. How convenient for me. Ansem the Wise. You look pathetic," Xemnas said.

"Have your laugh. I deserve as much for failing to see you for the fool you are," DiZ said, glaring up at Xemnas. Hate was radiating off of him, Yuki didn't even have to try to see it.

"Students do take after their teachers. Only a fool would be your apprentice. After all, none of this would have happened without you. You are the source of all Heartless. It was your research that inspired me to go further than you ever dared," Xemnas said. X and Y both exchanged a look. Yuki wasn't sure why though. Was there something they knew?

"I admit, my disregard brought chaos to more worlds than one," DiZ said looking back down and away from Xemnas. "But what were you seeking? You erased me from the world, only to take my name and continue research better left forgotten. Is this the answer you've been looking for?" DiZ looked back at Xemnas, waiting for an answer.

"All that and more," Xemnas answered. "I'm carrying on what you yourself began, and I'm creating a brand new world, one heart at a time. I thought you'd praise me, but all you ever do is hold me back. I understand, though. Unlike me, you have a heart. And you're powerless to control it. Consumed, by jealousy you feel toward the student who surpassed you."

At this point, Yuki was certain Xemnas was just rambling. The screaming sound had gotten louder and she could hardly hear anything else over it. Whatever Xemnas was talking about, recreating a world. It was nonsense. What he had right now, it wouldn't work.

"Xehanort. Foolish apprentice of a foolish man. You have surpassed nothing- only proved how little we both know. We may profess to know the heart, but its essence is beyond our reach. We're both ignorant-as oblivious as when we began. I'm afraid that any world you try to create -Any world of yours - would be an empire of ignorance. That is why you and your creation are destined to fall!" DiZ said. Electricity surged through the device he was holding onto. He turned away from Xemnas, who seemed to make his exit. "We've said enough! Riku, you know what to do! King Mickey, my friend, forgive me! Farewell!"

The device then exploded. Yuki cringed back as the sound reached. Y started forward but was pulled back by X quickly. The entire group was pushed back from the force of the explosion, falling to the ground. It took a moment for them to get to their feet again. When they did the sky was filled with falling hearts from the moon. The screaming had stopped now. replaced instead with a soft cry.

"Riku?"

Yuki turned at the sound of Sora's voice. Her eyes widened as Riku pushed himself to his feet.

"Riku!"

"Wow!" Donald and Goofy said.

"Riku!" Kairi said happily.

"Oh," Yuki said.

Riku didn't look like Ansem anymore. He looked like him. His silver hair was still long and looked like he could use a haircut. He still wore the organization's cloak, and around his eyes was a black blindfold. Yuki distinctly remembered the few times she had met him as a member of Organization XIV. He looked the same as all those times.

"Ansem did say 'anything could happen'," Mickey said. He seemed to be in just as much a state of disbelief as everyone else was.

"Riku, you gonna take that off?" Sora asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Oh," Riku said. He slowly reached up and pulled at the blindfold. It easily came off, showing his bright aquamarine eyes. Though with how long his bangs were, he might as well have kept the blindfold on.

"What was that?" Sora asked.

"His eyes couldn't lie," Mickey said simply.

"Lie? And just who were you trying to fool? Huh? Huhhh?" Sora asked as he leaned forward, hands on his hips. He was pouting slightly as he waited for Riku to answer. Riku looked away from Sora.

"Myself," Riku said.

"Riku," Sora said slumping. "C'mon, man! Why did you try to do so much on your own?" Sora ran over to Yuki and Kairi, putting an arm around either's shoulders. "You got friends like us!"

Riku looked between the three of them. Yuki smiled softly looking to the other two when she met Riku's eyes. He smiled softly after a moment.

"Have you forgotten? I'll tell you why. 'Cause I'm not a total sap like you," Riku said, smirking.

"Say that again!" Sora said, jumping at him as if they were going to start one of their sparring matches. Yuki chuckled but stopped. There was something coming. She could hear the chattering of lower Heartless.

"Uhhh-oh!" Donald said.

Over the wall of castle, they could see a mass of shadows. It looked like hearts that had been freed were returning to the form of Heartless. So many it looked like the castle was overflowing with them.

"That's a lot of Heartless," Y said nervously.

"They're angry. And scared," Yuki said without much of a thought. None of the chattering voices knew what was going on. But they could hear the cry too, and it was making them angry. They were repeating the same thing, over and over. She shouldn't cry. She shouldn't cry.

"What should we do, Riku?" Sora asked.

"We must defeat Xemnas. He's the Organization's last survivor," Riku said.

"Right!" Sora said with a nod.

"C'mon!" Riku said taking off the organization cloak and throwing it to the side. Underneath his cloak, he wore blue pants and a black zip-up vest. Over top, he wore another vest this one white and yellow.

They made their way farther into the castle heading toward the top. The only place any of them could figure Xemnas would be. They didn't get very much farther when another problem arose.

"Guys!" Kairi said, pointing toward a window. Heartless were literally pouring in through the window. Yuki took that as a sign the Heartless were growing in number still. They all were still crying the same thing. Whatever it meant, it unnerved Yuki.

"There's going to be no end to this," Riku said, tensing as he looked around for an escape plan.

"Together we can stop 'em!" Sora said.

Green flames erupted in between them and the Heartless. A woman clad in black and a humanoid cat stood in front of them. The woman's arms were outspread as if she was protecting them. Yuki vaguely remembered her from Radiant Gardens during the battle there.

"Be gone from here! Leave these creatures to us!" the woman snapped.

"But there's no way we can take them all," the humanoid cat thing said. He was practically shaking.

"I will be sending them after Xemnas. Or, perhaps, you would rather fight them yourself?" the woman asked snidely. The cat considered her offer for a moment.

"Frankly my dear, I'd rather run!" the cat said.

"Off with you then!" the woman snapped. The cat began backing away until his eyes met with the King.

"Well, if it ain't the boat-boy King," the cat said.

"Time to weigh anchor, Captain Pete!" Mickey said.

"What, like 'abandon ship'? I don't think so!" the cat said, getting offended. Yuki didn't understand why, as he was just about to run away.

"Sora! 'Your Majesty'! Do not forget- when I've destroyed them all, this castle shall be mine!" the woman said, glaring over her shoulder at the group. Darkness seeped off of her. Yuki supposed she should have expected as much.

"Now lookie here. Opportunities like this don't come along every day, ya know," the cat said as he rejoined the woman. "Bring 'em on!"

Yuki glanced over to X and Y. Meeting their eyes she knew they thought the same thing. No matter who these two were, they were hopeless on their own. Y was the first to move holding up her hand. X snapped and Yuki looked up, whistling a short series of notes.

Vortexes opened behind them, their own Heartless stepping through. Phoenix landed behind Yuki, nuzzling Yuki with its beak. Yuki glanced over at the other two, she had never seen them with their Heartless.

Y was stroking the beak of a strange creature. It had the front half of an eagle with golden feathers. The back half was a lion. Y smiled catching Yuki's eyes and giving the Heartless one last pat. X, on the other hand, was hardly acknowledging the giant two-tailed cat that wrapped around him. Its black fur moved like smoke and bright yellow eyes glared at the woman.

"This should give you some help," Yuki said, motioning Phoenix forward. The firey bird flew over her and hovered by the woman.

"Griffin can take out at least half of them," Y said proudly. The Heartless in question puffed out its chest and joined Phoenix by the woman, its large golden wings flapping in warning.

"Providing Nekomata doesn't turn on you, he'll pull his weight. But, you've got a fifty-fifty chance," X said. The cat hissed, not moving from behind X.

"Phoenix can watch him. Let's go," Yuki said turning back to the group.

"We gotta hurry," Mickey said.

"But," Sora began.

"They're doing what their hearts command. We can't interfere anymore," Mickey said. Sora nodded and gave one last look at the group. They had already started trying to reign in the other Heartless. Nekomata seemed to get bored of that easily and was already just killing the smaller ones.

Yuki wasn't sure how long it took, but soon enough they reached the top of the castle, where Xemnas stood looking up at the crying moon.

"Ohh, my Kingdom Hearts, ruined. Now I'll have to start all over again. Warriors of the keyblade!" He turned to face them, his face remaining as impassive as always. "Go forth, and bring me more hearts!"

"No!" The entire group shouted at once. Those with keyblades drew them and pointed them toward Xemnas. He took a moment to survey them, his eyes looking over every keyblade in front of him. Though X, Donald, and, Goofy had no keyblades, they still were pointing their weapons towards him.

"Denizens of the light, answer this: Why do you hate the darkness?" Xemnas asked.

"We don't," Yuki said simply.

"It's just kinda scary. But the world's made of light and darkness. You can't have one without the other, 'cause darkness is half of everything. Sorta makes ya wonder why we are scared of the dark," Mickey said, looking at the others around him.

"It's because of who's lurking inside it," Riku said firmly.

"And who misuses his power," X added calmly.

"Then allow me another question. You accept darkness, yet choose to live in the light. So why is it that you loathe us who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were turned away by both light and dark-never given a choice?" Xemnas asked. Yuki frowned. She herself wondered what their answer would be.

"That's simple. It's because you mess up our worlds," Riku answered. Yuki smirked slightly. That was fair.

"That may be," Xemnas admitted. "However, what other choice might we have had?"

"Just give it a rest! You're Nobodies! You don't even exist! You're not sad about anything!" Sora said angrily. Yuki flinched from his words. She could see X and Y give a similar reaction. Sora wasn't wrong, but so many Nobodies had seemed so human to her. Xemnas chuckled.

"Very good. You don't miss a thing. I cannot feel-sorrow," Xemnas said, looking at Sora. "No matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist."

"That has nothing to do with you being a Nobody. That's all you, Xehanort," Y said acidly.

Xemnas smirked again, throwing his arms up. Energy surrounded them, and in the blink of an eye, Sora and Xemnas both vanished.

"You have got to be kidding me," X said in exasperation.

"Why is it always Sora?" Yuki asked.

"Sora! Where are you?" Kairi yelled.

"Sora, answer me!" Riku yelled.

Sora fell in the center of the group. Yuki looked up in confusion her eyes widening at what she saw.

"You're ok!" Mickey said.

"Where's Xemnas?" Sora asked. Yuki pointed toward the moon, where her eyes had locked on Xemnas.

"That's not good," Yuki said, looking Xemnas in fear. He was too close to the moon. It wouldn't end well for them if he received its power.

"Hear me, Kingdom Hearts! It seems we must begin anew. Ah, but know this: I will give to you as many hearts as it takes. Mark my words! You can no more be complete without me than I without you. Heed me, Kingdom Hearts! Lend me your power, so that we may be complete! The power to erase the fools that hinder us," Xemnas said, speaking to the moon. the crying sound stopped.

"Xemnas! No!" Mickey yelled.

"Hearts quivering with hatred," Xemnas went on.

"Xemnas! Don't!" Sora yelled.

"Hearts burning with rage..."

"You'll never win!" Donald yelled.

"She won't be used for this!" Yuki shouted.

"Hearts scarred by envy," Xemnas said. "That fool Ansem said the heart's true nature was beyond his understanding. But it's not beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!"

If you think you are so wise.

The smooth voice filled the air, followed by the moon glowing so brightly they were momentarily blinded. When they could again see, Xemnas was gone.

"Xemnas! You can't hide from us!" Sora yelled, his fist clenched as he looked up at the moon.

"We're not gonna let him get away now!" Mickey said, looking around for some way to chase after Xemnas.

"Look at that!" Kairi said, pointing at a door in the center of the platform.

"What's goin' on?" Goofy asked.

"Kingdom Hearts," Yuki muttered.

"Let's go. Xemnas must be inside," Riku said.

"The worlds gave us this doorway. They want us to be the guardians of their destiny!" Mickey said excitedly.

"I wouldn't say the worlds," X muttered. Yuki barely caught the sound, and it seemed she was the only one who had.

"Once we go through, there's no turning back. It's victory or oblivion. So, Sora are you ready? Do you remember before? We stood facing each other on opposite sides of that door. Now we stand side-by-side. Let's go home together this time," Riku said looking at Sora. Sora nodded as he stepped toward the door.

Beyond this door is the beginning of the end of your journey. Are you prepared for what lies ahead?

"Let's end this!" Sora said.

Sora, Yuki, Riku, Mickey, and Y touched their keyblades together. A beam of light formed where they touched and shot at the door, easily unlocking it.

"Get ready Xemnas! It all ends here!" Sora shouted.

They all stepped through the door to find what was almost another world. Xemnas was again above them, looking down at them coldly.

"So, it seems your hearts have led you to obliteration. Perhaps it doesn't pay to be loyal to one's heart. I will have to be sure and remember that," Xemnas said. He raised his hand and threw an entire building at them. Yuki rolled forward to avoid being hit. When she stood she saw it was only her, Riku, and Sora who had managed to stay on this side.

"No!" Riku yelled reaching back for the others.

"We can take him on our own!" Sora said firmly. Yuki nodded reading her own keys.

Sora led the charge through the city. It was much like the city beneath the castle, save for the dragon Nobody circling around a fortress at the far end. They had to jump over numerous falling buildings and cut through a few that seemed to just pop out of the ground. They jumped onto the fortress, which was some kind of machine. Sora had given them the order to attack the core and get the ship down instead of in the sky.

Yuki wasn't sure when Sora had gotten so good at strategizing but she wasn't going to question him. After exploding the two cylinders below they went to the main energy core and destroyed that.

Their final battle was on the top of the fortress. They were faced with who Yuki could only assume was Xemnas in full armor sitting on a thrown. Yuki thought it fortunate Xemnas never rose from his throne. It was easier to pound on him. But he had no trouble causing damage to them, using his sword to throw them across the arena. And somehow he could use the abilities of every member of the Organization before. Yuki felt herself fill with anger as she blocked a hit from Axel's chakrams.

"Sora!" Yuki yelled. He ran towards her, hearing her call. Yuki slipped her keys under his feet and launched him straight toward the armor. His keyblade found what would be his heart, and the armor let out a cry.

In a bright light, they were back to the top of the castle, the others looking confused at their sudden appearance. Xemnas stumbled to his knees in front of them. His hand resting over what would be his heart. But Yuki was sure he really didn't have one.

"I need, more rage. I need more, hearts," Xemnas muttered. He was gasping for breath.

"Xemnas. There's more to a heart than just anger or hate. It's full of all kinds of feelings. Don't you remember?" Sora asked stepping forward. Xemnas looked at him over his shoulder.

"Unfortunately, I don't," he said as he faded away.

"Gosh, you all did great!" Mickey said brightly. Sora nodded and turned to Riku and Yuki.

"You're both coming back with us, right?" Sora asked.

"I had given in to the darkness," Riku said, looking away from Sora.

"Riku!" Sora said.

"How am I gonna face everyone?" he asked.

"Like this," Sora said. He squished his face together, making Riku laugh. He nodded in agreement before looking at Yuki. She turned away, rubbing her shoulder nervously. She tried not to look at her left hand, but she had to.

"I dunno. I'm not sure I'd really fit in, ya know?" she said, with a shrug. A lot had changed since her last time home. Everything had changed.

"C'mon!" Sora pleaded.

"Of course you'd fit in," Kairi said. Yuki shrugged again. X and Y tapped her other shoulder. Yuki slowly looked at them.

"Go home," X said.

"You still have them, so don't let them go," Y said. Yuki nodded slowly. Y's eyes looked like they were filled with tears.

"I guess, I can try," she said.

Smiles spread across her friend's faces, but the moment was interrupted by the entire castle shaking.

"Hurry!" Mickey said.

"I'll open a path!" Riku said. He held out his hand, but to no avail.

"You don't belong in the dark realm anymore, Riku," Mickey said. Riku nodded as he looked at his hand.

"How do we get out of here, Your Majesty?" Donald asked. Before any of the Heartless could move a dark corridor opened up. Yuki gasped, seeing Naminé standing at the edge of the portal.

"Who did this?" Donald asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. But we'd better hurry and get through," Mickey said. Yuki supposed they couldn't see what was only the shadow of Naminé that remained. A dog ran in and barked, running around the group before running into the portal.

"Wait for me!" Goofy said. He went through the dark corridor, followed by Mickey. Donald turned to the others.

"C'mon!" he said before he too went through. When he was gone Naminé reappeared, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Thank you, Naminé," Kairi said, stepping forward.

"Sure," Naminé said with a smile. She paused for a moment and looked at Sora. "See? We meet again, like we promised."

"Huh?" Sora asked in confusion.

"You said we'd meet again, but when we did, we might not recognize each other," a familiar voice said. Yuki held back a gasp as Roxas appeared. He was a blurry image like he wasn't really there. Yuki felt tears well up in her eyes. His heart was separating from Sora, for just a moment.

"I did, didn't I?" Naminé said with a chuckle.

"But I knew you," Roxas said.

"Mmm, it's strange," Naminé said looking down at the ground.

"I think I understand. I see myself the way you remember me. And you see yourself the way I remember you," Roxas said.

"I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness," Naminé said. She looked up again with a shy smile. Her hands moved, fingers lacing together and then unlacing. It was the way her hands always moved when she was nervous.

"Yeah, but you and I didn't. We got to meet our original selves," Roxas said.

"So we can be together again!" Naminé said happily. Roxas nodded and walked to her side, turning to face Sora.

"Right. Anytime Sora and Kairi are together," he said.

"We'll be together every day. Right, Sora?" Kairi said, looking at Sora expectantly.

"Uh, yeah!" Sora said. He was still clearly in shock about the whole situation. Kairi took Naminé's hand, the two of them glowed brightly for a second, and then only Kairi remained.

"Keep an eye on her, ok?" Roxas asked, glancing at Yuki. He looked back at Sora with a crooked grin. "Just until I get back."

"Yeah," Sora agreed.

"Sorry guys," Roxas said, glancing at the Heartless trio.

"I'm holding you to that coming back thing," Y said. Roxas chuckled and nodded.

"Gonna be awful quiet without you and the other loudmouth," X said putting his hand on his hip.

"Oh, thanks," Roxas said sarcastically. His eyes met with Yuki's. All she could do was force herself to smile.

"We'll see you later," Yuki said softly.

"Yeah, see ya," he agreed. For a moment it looked like he was going to say something else. But he turned away and looked at Sora. He closed his eyes and vanished, returning to Sora. Sora looked down at himself worriedly.

"Don't worry. You're all still you," Riku said.

"Hey, let's go home!" Kairi said. She stood by the portal with Yuki and the twins.

"Riku, c'mon," Sora said.

"Yeah," Riku agreed.

Yuki and the twins went through the corridor. They ended up on Destiny Islands. The familiar beach sounds put Yuki's heart at ease. Her ears were ringing, now that they were away from the noise in that world. The absence of noise was nearly as unsettling as the noise itself had been.

Yuki turned to see Kairi fall through the corridor and the corridor close. Riku and Sora were nowhere in sight.

"Kairi! What happened? Are you ok?" Yuki asked as she knelt beside Kairi.

"The portal closed! And Sora and Riku were still there!" Kairi said fearfully.

"What do we do then?" X asked. It was unnerving to hear the normally calm one sound so panicked.

"We're just gonna have to wait it out. We can't go back," Mickey said.

"You can't," Yuki snapped. She stood preparing to open another dark corridor.

"Yuki, we don't even know if they're still there," Y said, resting a hand on Yuki's arm.

"It's a waiting game now. So let's believe in them," X said, his arms crossed. He sounded calm enough, but Yuki could see the worry in his eyes. They were slowly fading back to purple, the yellow receeding to the center.

"Someone has to lead them back to the realm of light," Y said.

"Ok, so now we wait," Yuki said with a heavy sigh.


	36. Chapter XXXV

**Chapter XXXV; Finally Home**

Yuki did not like waiting. She didn't like not having something to do while she waited. Her thoughts would get too loud when she wasn't busy. And she didn't think she could handle those thoughts right now. Not with everything that had happened. Not with losing Axel, and seeing Roxas only to watch him fade away. And losing Naminé. It was all too much to think about.

Yuki paced around the beach, She didn't know where she was, but it was only the play island. She couldn't be too far from the group. Her feet kicked at the sand as her eyes scanned for seashells.

"You look worried, Your Majesty."

Yuki sighed heavily as she turned towards the voice. She glared at the red-haired Heartless who had leaned against a tree. She had a cocky grin as she examined a die in her hand.

"Great. We already have Xemnas to worry about, and now you're here," Yuki said. Aryum laughed, pocketing the die and looking at Yuki. Her golden eyes were filled with a playful light. Yuki had a feeling that wasn't good.

"Oh, Xemnas isn't a problem anymore. Your boys have already defeated him," Aryum said.

"What? Then where are they?" Yuki demanded.

"By now, I assume the realm of darkness," Aryum said. Yuki felt her heart sink. "Fear not, I'm sure they'll return. Can't promise when though." Aryum gave a slight mock bow to Yuki. Yuki glared at her, crossing her arms.

"Why did you come here? What do you want with me?" Yuki asked. Aryum rarely made appearances unless she wanted something. And Yuki was beginning to be wary of what it was she wanted. It was never as simple as she first made it out to be.

"Did you hear her? While you were in The World That Never Was?" Aryum asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Her?" Yuki echoed.

"Yes, her. You don't have to answer. I know you did," Aryum said simply. Yuki looked down. It was that voice. The one that had screamed.

"Who is she?" Yuki asked.

"Good question. I don't think there's ever been someone who can answer it though. All that matters is someone can hear her, and this time it happens to be you," Aryum explained as she paced away from the tree. She stopped in front of Yuki, standing in front of her. They were almost equal in height, but somehow Aryum seemed taller.

"What is your point?" Yuki asked.

"Do you really think you can return to life here?" Aryum asked. Yuki took a step back from her. She grinned and turned her back on Yuki again. "Do you think after everything you've seen and done you can go back to a normal life? What do you plan on telling them happened? Where have you been? Why didn't you come back sooner? These are questions you'll have to answer. And how do you plan on answering them?"

She asked her questions one after the other, leaving Yuki no chance to answer. But it didn't matter. Yuki had no answer. She hadn't even thought of any of that. She just came back because the others had asked her to. Told her to.

"I- I don't know," Yuki stuttered out.

"Your friends have you fooled. You can't belong here again. You've changed too much," Aryum said. She turned back to Yuki and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Why do you care? What do you gain if I don't stay?" Yuki asked.

"There is a way you could belong," Aryum said. "All you have to do is help us. We don't want to hurt anyone if we don't have to, all we need is you to help us."

Yuki frowned and looked down at the ground. She knew what that meant. It was all they ever wanted. Their hearts. The hearts many of them already had.

"I don't want my heart back," Yuki said before correcting herself. "I don't want her heart back. I will never be Kiu. And she was never me."

"Are you sure? Maybe you are her, you'd have no way to tell, would you?" Aryum asked.

"Roxas wasn't Sora," Yuki said simply. Aryum shrugged.

"Not in a traditional sense," she agreed. "But at the same time, he was."

Yuki frowned as she looked down. It was the thought she was trying hardest to run away from. Even with everything she had left, she wasn't sure she wanted any of it. She had her sister, and Sora and Riku. But it wasn't the same as having what they had on the clock tower. What they would never have again. She didn't fit here. She still had to tell them her whole story. And she wasn't sure she wanted to see what they thought of her in the end. She had helped Organization XIII cause all the damage they had. What if they hated her? What if they decided she couldn't stay? She would have nowhere left to go.

"It's hard, isn't it? Facing your past," Aryum said as if reading her thoughts. "In a world with no guarantees, the past is the only thing we can really hold on to. There is no proof of a god, there is no proof of a life after death. Even our futures can't be promised with full confidence. Our past is all we have."

"You can see the future though," Yuki said looking up.

"I see the most likely outcome. I have been wrong before. And I'm sure I will be again," Aryum said.

"What would you need me to do? Theoretically?" Yuki asked. Aryum smiled broadly.

"Well, since you're asking-"

"Yuki!"

Both jumped and turned towards the sudden voice. Aryum cursed under her breath as X approached them, his hands in his pockets. Y was beside him, watching Aryum cautiously.

"What are you doing here?" X asked.

"Having a chat with the queen. Maybe you and your sister would like to weigh in," Aryum said, keeping her easy smile.

"What do you want?" Y asked.

"Where do you two plan on returning to?" Aryum asked. "Don't really have a place to go, do you? The Land of Departure is long gone, only a shadow remaining. Your home wouldn't welcome you. Where will you go?"

"It doesn't matter. We'll think of something," Y said simply. Yuki frowned. Did they really have nowhere to go?

"Even for you, the only thing left to hold onto is the past. Why do you shun us who so desperately chase it?" Aryum asked.

"Because it's not the past you're after," X said simply. Yuki frowned at his words. What else were they after then? Wasn't getting their hearts back just a means to become normal again? To go back to what they had?

"You're right of course," Aryum admitted. She kicked the sand in annoyance. "We're chasing something different. Our pasts are the only guarantee. In a world with nothing else, that one given promise is our God."

"I've never believed in any God," X said with a snort. Yuki had a feeling these two were speaking a totally different language. One only they understood.

"But you believe in the past, which is only your guilt. And that guilt is your God, Dark's Keeper," Aryum said with a smirk.

"Will you get to your point already?" Y asked, crossing her arms.

"I've already stated my point. Help us, please. Anything you want we could give you. All we need, is a little help from our highest royalty," Aryum said. She held her hand out to them. Yuki found herself staring at it, her heart racing as she bit her lip.

"No," Y said simply.

"In your dreams," X said, scoffing slightly. Yuki hesitated for a moment.

"I don't think it's a good idea to chase any kind of God," She decided, taking a backwards step. Aryum sighed and dropped her hand.

"Well, you are adept at giving the right answers," she said.

"You were trying to trick me?" Yuki asked.

"Easier than the other option. On both of us," Aryum said. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "The right answer is rarely the easy one. I'm sure we'll be seeing you again very soon." She smirked as she looked over at them again.

"So why don't you leave?" X asked.

"I'd like a private word with each of you. Don't worry, no tricks this time," Aryum said, holding up her hands to show they were empty. Yuki knew that could easily be a trick. She always seemed to make things appear out of nowhere.

"No w-" X began. Yuki cut him off before he could finish.

"Fine."

"Excellent. Dark's Keeper first," Aryum said, gripping X tightly by the upper arm and dragging him a distance away. Yuki never learned to read lips, but she doubted that skill would help her now. Aryum had her back turned to Yuki, and X wasn't reacting with anything more than his eyes narrowing further and further until it looked as if he was trying to kill her with his glare.

X turned away from her and stalked away. Yuki suspected the next person he saw was not going to be having a good day. She hadn't seen him so angry in a long time.

Aryum returned to the group holding her hand out to Y.

"Light's Keeper," Aryum said. Y sighed as she took her hand and allowed herself to be led away.

Y's reaction was less angry than X's. Whatever Aryum said to her only made a look of worry cross her face. She crossed her arms as she walked away, looking at her shadow on the ground.

"And the Twilight's Keeper," Aryum said as she returned to Yuki.

"What words of wisdom do you have?" Yuki asked sarcastically.

"Do you still have that seashell?" Aryum asked. Yuki frowned.

"What?" Yuki asked.

"The one from Roxas, or, that other girl. I don't know her name. Only that she existed," Aryum said with a roll of her eyes. It seemed not knowing was vaguely annoying to her.

"Xion," Yuki breathed out.

"Is that her name then?" Aryum asked. "I'll do my best to remember."

"How do you still know her when everyone else has forgotten?" Yuki asked. Even if she didn't know her name, knowing she existed was better than anyone else.

"Something similar to why you remember. Tempus holds similar knowledge," Aryum explained. Yuki frowned. She still didn't know why she remembered. "However, it'd be best if you forgot."

"What?" Yuki asked quietly. Aryum smiled softly.

"If you want to try and make this place home again. Forget. The Nobodies. X, Y. Forget. Only the three here should remain in your heart," she said.

"How could you even suggest that?" Yuki asked in disbelief. Aryum laughed.

"I never said it'd be easy. It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember. But, it's a lot less pain to forget," she said.

"I think I'll take the pain," Yuki said coolly. To her surprise, Aryum smiled again.

"You are a wise one. I hope that works in your favor. Good luck, Yuki," She said. She gave a wave before turning and walking away. Yuki frowned as she watched her open a dark corridor and leave.

"Look!"

Yuki was glad for another distraction when thoughts were surely about to fill her mind. And she knew they would be thoughts she didn't want.

Yuki returned to where the group was waiting by the beach. Looking up to the sky she watched as two streaks like falling stars fell from the sky and into the water. After a moment under the water, Sora and Riku resurfaced.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi called.

They both waved before swimming to shore.

Yuki stood back as Sora was hugged by Donald and Goofy and Mickey went to Riku. She smiled, watching the scene. She stepped forward and offered a hand to Riku and pulled him from the water.

"W-we're back," Sora said. Kairi smiled and held her hand out to him.

"You're home."


	37. Epilogue

**Epilogue; Yours And Mine**

It was well past midnight in the Mysterious Tower. X was well aware of that but the exact time was beyond him. Several candles were lit around the room, but they didn't offer much light. Not nearly enough to cover the entire library. X didn't mind the darkness though. As long as he had enough light to read by that was all that mattered. And he probably would have been able to read from the light that poured in the large windows. The stars were rather bright here.

The desk X was at was covered in books all open to different pages and he flipped through each idly. Y never understood how he was able to read multiple books at a time. He never knew himself either. Reading was just one thing he was able to do no matter the circumstance.

Y was at the other side of the desk. X had blown out the candle next to her after she had fallen asleep a few hours ago. Her head was resting on an open book, and her Wayfinder was held tightly in her hand. She would wake up with the strange imprint like was becoming the usual here.

X sighed and stood up. He grabbed a blanket that was draped over a nearby chair. He was prepared for her to fall asleep again. She had every night they had stayed in the library reading. X gently placed the blanket over her shoulders and as carefully as he could, took the book from her and closed it.

He sat back down again and began to read. Y had been exhausted since her trip to Disney Place. Ther had been a problem with Jiminey's Journal, and she had been asked to help. It ended with a wild adventure in a data world. X hadn't gotten all the details. But it seemed as expected, Sora was the key to saving their friends. They just needed to figure out what Sora had to do.

"Mmmm, what time is it?" Y asked sleepily. X looked from his books to see Y sitting up, rubbing her eyes. It did little to get rid of the sleepiness.

"Late," X answered.

"How late?" Y asked. She forced her eyes to stay open as she supported her head on her arm.

"To the point it could be argued as early," X said. Y blinked a few times, taking a moment to process what that meant.

"And you're still awake?" she asked. X shrugged looking back down to his various books.

"Not tired," he said. He glanced up at her again. "You should go get some rest, in an actual bed."

"No, not until you sleep too," Y said, shaking her head.

"I'm fine. It's no big deal," X said. Y pouted and rested her head on her crossed arms. She watched as X continued flipping through various books. She didn't move to help him. X doubted she even could. It was much too late, and she had never enjoyed reading in the first place.

"Have you found anything?" she asked after a moment.

"Nothing concrete really. A lot of this is really vague. But, some of it might help. It talks about the power of waking, which might be what we need," X explained. He had seen it referenced a few times in waking sleeping hearts. Which Ventus's heart was certainly sleeping like his body was.

"Power of waking?" Y asked.

"It's a power keyblade masters often have. But, I can't find much more about it. It's about as elusive as writings on the ancient keyblade war," X said.

"Isn't all that knowledge kept in Scala ad Caelum?" Y asked. X paused for a moment, half-convinced she was just making things up in her sleep-deprived state.

"Huh?" X asked.

"You know, keyblade capital?" Y asked. X stared at her blankly. "Master Eraqus trained there. I think he said it's empty now, and near impossible to get to. But I bet that's where everything on the keyblade war is."

"Hm, never heard of it," X said.

"Really?" Y asked. X rolled his eyes.

"Why the tone of surprise?" He asked.

"You always knew everything," Y said without a pause. She frowned and looked at her brother carefully. "Why is that?"

"Just read a lot. And retained it," X said with a shrug. Panic flared up in him. If she caught on to his lie here it would be over. He had to push aside Aryum's nagging voice. It was better this way. No matter what she said.

"For later use. Right," y said. She didn't sound convinced, but she was going to let it slide. X sighed heavily closing all of the books. He would put them back, but it was a waste of energy. They would put themselves back eventually.

"I guess this can wait until tomorrow," he said. Though tomorrow would really just be later in the day after he got a chance to rest a little. He didn't sleep much. He attracted too many Nightmares.

"Good," Y said as she pushed herself up. She kept the blanket draped around her shoulders like a cape. She walked over to X, holding out her hand. "You coming?"

"Yeah," he said taking her hand. Y smiled and threw the blanket over X's shoulders as well, leaning into him as they left the library.

The halls of the tower were empty. Even the brooms were nowhere in sight. X wasn't sure if Master Yen Sid was asleep. Or if the sorcerer even slept in the first place.

He was grateful to Yen Sid. They had nowhere to go, as annoying as Aryum was, she was right about that. X had thought about Castle Oblivion, but he didn't want to force Y to spend any more time in that tomb. She had stayed there too long already in his opinion. Yen Sid had offered them a place with him. And it was the best place they could ask for.

"X, would you ever turn on me?" Y asked suddenly. X frowned and looked at his sister.

"What?" X asked.

"I just. I can count on you, right? You won't ever just leave me?" Y asked. She sounded scared, like she had been all those years ago. The first time they had separated. X suppressed a shudder at the memory.

"Never," X said firmly. "I'd die before leaving you or hurting you ever again."

"You promise?" Y asked quietly.

"Promise," X said. "What's wrong?" She never had these questions before. Not since he had proven himself again. But, she had been strange since the world that never was. Since they had defeated Xemnas. Well, Sora and Riku had.

"Aryum, she just said something weird and I didn't think it was that big of a deal at first. But it's been gnawing at me since she said it," Y said with a shrug. X narrowed his eyes. Aryum had a knack for picking the one thing that would do just that. Just like she had with him.

"And what did she say?" X asked.

"She said I can only trust myself. Even your shadow leaves you in darkness," Y said. The words fell out so easily, X suspected she had been repeating them to herself nonstop.

X looked at the ground. It wasn't wrong. In darkness, a shadow would vanish. But he supposed that was her hope at cluing Y in. Had she tried to tell Yuki too? What if one of them found out before he could tell them? Should he tell them?

No, better to let them have their peace for however long they could manage.

"Oddly poetic of her. Think she might have taken that one from me," X said calmly. "And while it's true. I'm not a shadow." He was much more than a shadow.

"Thanks," Y said leaning her head on his shoulder.

They walked in silence to Y's room. X allowed her to get settles in, curling up with a plush of a shadow Heartless. He didn't know where she had gotten it. For a second he wondered where the Chirithy plush was, but he brushed the thought away. It didn't matter.

"We're going to get them back, right?" Y asked as X sat at the edge of her bed.

"Of course," X said without hesitation, though he wasn't sure. So much was against them.

"Can you tell a story?" Y asked.

"Sure, which one?" X asked.

"I don't care. Just one," Y said as she curled into a ball under her blankets.

X sighed and leaned back thinking. After a moment he told the story that had been on his mind a lot as of late. The one that had started it all.

"Long ago, all of the worlds were one..."

X told the story, remembering each and every event that he told Y about. If he closed his eyes he could see the clock tower that counted not minutes, but time until it ended. Before long Y was asleep and X let his voice trail off. He looked down at her and brushed her hair off her forehead. He kissed her forehead gently before standing up.

"I will save them. And you too."

He left the room and closed the door. Y let her eyes open for just a moment after he had gone. His words echoing in her mind. Save her from what?

Yuki was still trying to see the room as hers. It was painted a light blue color, and had been since she was a child she had been told. She had never liked the girly colors like Kairi had. Her mother had laughed when saying that. It was still hard to think of her as her mother. She had a family.

One of the walls was made up of shelves. There were books and a huge collection of seashells. Her favorite two were displayed side by side. The pure white one, and the one that had been from Xion.

On the other wall was a corkboard. Yuki had liked the idea of having something to stick notes on. But now it wasn't filled with notes. Only pictures. In the center was the picture she had received from Y. The only thing she had left of Roxas. Other pictures surrounded it, pictures she had taken of the island and it's inhabitants. Even a picture of X and Y during their last visit. She hadn't seen them in some time now. She had a few of Twilight Town, she had left for an afternoon to visit her homeworld. She couldn't think of it as anything else.

"Yuki! Riku's here!"

Yuki jumped hearing her mother's call.

"Ok! Be right down!" She called back. She grabbed her camera and strung it around her neck before running down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Riku was waiting for her. He offered a smile when he saw her. Her mother was just a few feet over, watching with a nervous smile. She was a pretty young woman with brown hair tied back in a bun and crystal clear blue eyes.

It had been hard to explain what had happened to all of them without disrupting the world order. That was a new rule Yuki was still getting used to. Riku had been the one to decide to just tell the truth to their parents, and their parents only. Though he had left out Yuki being a Heartless. She saw no reason to complain about that.

"Hey," Yuki said.

"Hey, ready to go?" Riku asked.

"Yeah," Yuki said. She took Riku's hand and went out the door with him. She had to ignore the sigh from her mother. It was the same sigh she gave every time. But it was unnecessary and certainly not close to understanding what was really going on.

Since Yuki's return to the islands, she couldn't stand to be alone. She felt suffocated by her own thoughts when she was alone. She spent more time than she could even guess in Kairi's room talking to her. Or over at Sora's hanging out with him. And anytime she was near one of them, she felt like she had to prove it was real to her. The easiest way she had found was to stay in contact with one of them.

"Are you feeling better yet?" Riku asked.

"Well, better than I did yesterday. But, I don't think I'll ever really be back to the way I was before, you know?" Yuki replied. Riku nodded glancing down at her.

"Yeah. I know," he said.

The two of them went to the play island, the one place they could escape the staring eyes of those in town. Sora and Kairi were already there. They had made the plans earlier. Yuki learned it was better not to ask what they were up to.

One the island it was safe enough for Yuki to let go of Riku's hand. But she stayed close to the others. At least one had to be in her eyesight at all times.

As she paced up and down the beach she searching for seashells Sora walked with her. She paused for a moment looking inland. Toward the place she had spoken to Aryum. Part of her wanted to forget that conversation. But the other part of her replayed it over and over.

Forget.

Sometimes she wished she could.

"Look at this one," Sora said holding up a shell. Yuki smiled as she took it from him. It was a cream color, with pink spiraled through it.

"Oh, I haven't seen a conch in a long time," she said. She held the shell to her ear, listening to the wave-like sound it created. She smiled softly as her eyes fell closed. The waves still sounded like home.

"You know, I think he's happier when you're smiling," Sora said. Yuki opened her eyes and lowered the shell.

"What?" she asked softly.

"Roxas. Sometimes, I still get thoughts I know aren't mine. I think that's him. He's happier when you smile," Sora said. He smiled brightly. Yuki chuckled and smiled softly. "Yeah, like that."

Maybe she didn't want to forget.

As the sunset, Yuki sat up on the paopu tree. Riku stood beside her with his arms crossed as he leaned on the tree. They stared out over the ocean waves toward the main island in silence. He arm was brushing up against his shoulder. He was still there.

"What do you miss most?" Riku asked.

"Hm," Yuki said as she thought. There was so much to miss. The stars in Radiant Gardens. The city in Shibuya. The people she had met in every world. But she supposed there was one thing that stood out to her in the end. "Twilight Town sunsets. Especially if I was on top off the clock tower. There was one, one I don't think I'll ever forget."

"Hm. Is that the one you said Axel's heart looked like?" Riku asked. Yuki looked down at him with a grin. Even if it hurt, Axel would hate for her to cry.

"How'd you know that?" she asked.

"Sora mentioned it. He thought it was interesting," Riku said calmly. Yuki nodded looking up again.

"Sora's looks like early morning over the water. The water reflecting the sky almost perfectly. Enough light to offer shelter to the shadows," Yuki said. She could clearly see Sora's heart. She always thought it was beautiful, but fragile too. It made her worry about him.

"Kairi's?" Riku asked.

"The sky as the sun hits its peak. The brightest blue sky without a single cloud," Yuki said. It was a heart she expected the other Princesses of heart had. But she also knew Kairi's light was special. No two hearts looked the same.

"Huh," Riku said.

"Yours looks like dawn. If you're curious," Yuki said offhandedly. Riku chuckled.

"What about yours?" Riku asked.

"Don't know. Can't see my own. Guess that's part of the mystery," Yuki said.

She had never thought to even try looking. But she knew it wouldn't work. But, she wondered. What was her like. Roxas's had reminded her of the twilight sky. Xion, she never got to look. But knowing Xion, it would have been bright too. Maybe she should look at X and Y's too. They had to have interesting hearts. As beautiful as any other one she saw.

Yuki hardly noticed as Sora joined them, easily jumping up beside her on the tree. He leaned back on his arms, following their gaze into the sunset.

"Nothing's changed, huh?" Riku said.

"Nope. Nothing will," Sora said.

"What a small world," Riku said, sounding almost disappointed.

"But part of one that's much bigger," Sora said. Riku smirked and nodded.

"Yeah."

"Hey Riku, what do you think it was- the door to the light?" Sora asked. They had explained how they had gotten out of the realm of darkness. A door of light had just opened up for them.

"This," Riku said, pointing to his heart.

"This?" Sora echoed.

"Yeah. It's always closer than you think," Riku said. Sora smiled and nodded once again.

"Sora! Riku! Yuki!" Kairi called as she ran up to them. She stopped in front of them panting as she put her hands on her knees.

"Hey, what's up?" Sora asked.

"Look," Kairi said holding out a glass bottle. At first Yuki didn't see what was so special. They got messages in bottles fairly often on the island. That was until she saw the emblem of King Mickey.

"From the king?" Sora asked. He jumped up and took the letter from her. He dumped it out and opened it, letting the others crowd around him to read.

_A/N: Hello everyone! This finally brings about the conclusion of Dark's Keeper. Just going to take a quick moment to talk about where I plan on going next. So, given a bit of time I'm going to start publishing Twilight's Keeper, the Dream Drop Distance entry of this series. To be honest it has pretty much nothing to do with Dream Drop and is the Heartless trio doing their own thing while Sora and Riku take their mark of mastery. I have planning all done so I want to get a few chapters ahead in writing before I start uploading._

_I also want to take the time to thank all of you for your feedback and support. It is amazing to hear from you and it always makes my day. I wouldn't be anywhere without you lot, so thanks a million. Seriously. Anyway, that's all for now, until the next! May your heart be your guiding key!_


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